Tick Tock
by PenSmith433
Summary: A woman lies murdered with 14 minutes left on her clock, a single rose petal left next to her, and ties to a case that Raymond Leon thought was closed. Maybe it is, but time is growing short, and the clocks are beginning to count down.
1. Chapter 1: Dead Bodies and Petals

**Disclaimer: In Time does not belong to me.**

It was raining.

That was the first thing he noticed when he stepped out of his car, and walked towards the crime scene. The cold droplets fell down from the sky, soaking Timekeeper Raymond Leon through to the bone. It was the type of rain that went straight through you, plastering his clothes to his skin, and seeping into his boots. He shuddered slightly, trying to push the coldness from his mind.

He looked at his clock. 0000:00:0:09:34:10. He had plenty of time to deal with this incident before getting back to his apartment to sleep for a few hours before starting the new day. It was half eleven now and he hadn't clocked off his shift for nearly thirteen hours. He was only glad that he would get paid some overtime for this happenstance.

Leon pulled his coat closer to him. It didn't help one bit, but he pretended that it gave him some measure of warmth. It hadn't rained like this for some months now. It just had to be today that the weather would defy logic. It had been bright and sunny only a week before. Now it just felt like midwinter.

"What do we have?" he asked Timekeeper Korsqq as he slipped under the red tape that they still used and stood over the body lying on the ground. He refused to let his countenance change at the sight of the dead woman, "Why were we called out? Surely this is a matter for the local authorities. We are in Dayton after all. Murder is common here,"

"We don't know her name, sir," Korsqq replied, looking at the body with something that Leon would describe as revolted fascination. Even Leon had to admit to himself that the way that the body had been treated was something...different, "But the clothes that she's wearing look like they would stand out in a place like Dayton. Her throat is cut and it looks like there is extensive torture to the upper body,"

Timekeeper Korsqq was right in stating that the woman didn't look like she belonged in Dayton. Leon could spot several pieces of jewellery that the woman wore, which looked relatively expensive. The manner in which the woman had been killed was...disturbing to say the least. Deep grooves were carved into the woman's arms and upper torso, her clothes ripped and torn. The rain had swept away most of the blood but Leon could still see several stains on the concrete. It was unusual to see this level of detail in a murder victim, but not necessarily one that would bring the Timekeepers into the equation.

"Apart from the torture, it sounds like it's just another murder in the ghetto, Korsqq," Leon shrugged, chewing on a piece of gum, "What makes this murder important to the Timekeepers?"

"Because of her clock," Leon turned to look at Medical Examiner Peters. The 75 year old man was walking towards him with bloodstained plastic gloves. A twisted scar marred his face from a severe accident that had happened nearly 25 years ago. Despite the disfigurement, the man was still considered to be quite handsome amongst the female Timekeepers.

"Have you noticed her clock?" the man pressed and bent down to move the dead woman's arm into view, "Can you see it? 0000:00:0:00:14:01," Leon inspected the faded numbers, "Why would anyone leave numbers on someone in the ghetto, they steal for time. Every minute counts in this time zone,"

"Fourteen minutes left therefore not murdered for her time," Leon nodded, "Tortured and killed in Dayton yet clearly she did not live here," he stopped suddenly, a faint memory trickling through his mind. He roughly shoved it aside. He was not going to dwell on that, "You examined the body then?"

"Yes, I was the first examiner on the scene," Peters straightened up, looking at the other man carefully, "She's been dead for about seven hours, so she was murdered at approximately 1630 hours. She shows signs of a struggle, there are one or two broken fingernails, no sexual assault either. Our murderer wasn't interested in that route," the man looked troubled, placing one hand to his mouth, "Deep cuts to the torso and upper arms. Straight lines only, none that were curved,"

"Anything else, Peters?"

Just one more thing," the British man held up an evidence bag, "It might not look like much but I found this lying by the body when I was inspecting it," he handed it over and Leon took the small bag, holding it up to the streetlamp that was blazing above them, "It might just be a coincidence,"

"A red petal?" Leon inquired, handing back the small bag, "Yes, it might just be a coincidence,"

"You don't believe that?"

"No," Leon's voice was sharp in tone and he closed his eyes tightly before looking at the mutilated woman, "No, I don't believe that. Extensive torture with straight lines only, fourteen minutes left on the victim's clock, and a red petal left by the side of the body. Of course I don't believe it's a coincidence. But I also know that what you are suggesting is impossible," he thrust his hands deep into his pockets, "We'll investigate all routes before we turn to that line of inquiry," he looked up at the still pouring sky, "And get the body back to Headquarters, we're starting to attract attention,"

He turned away from Peters walking back to his car. He needed to sleep. Korsqq fell into line next to him, "What would you like us to do now, sir?"

"Clock off and get some sleep," Leon told him, "Be at Headquarters at 0600, where we'll start the initial inquiries. There's no point starting now. We'll start when we're fully awake," the white haired Timekeeper nodded silently before going to his own car. The rain hadn't eased off its battle since Leon had gotten out of his car.

Leon looked around the darkened street, not liking the cold creeping feeling that ran up and down his neck as he stood next to his car. He disliked the unnaturalness of the silence; even the examiners that were moving the body seemed to be making hardly any noise. He felt like there was someone watching him, but as he calmly surveyed the area, there was no one that he could see.

He sighed slightly before sitting in the car, picking up the radio, "This is Timekeeper Leon, clocking off duty at 2330," he spoke into it and was met with nothing but static. He closed his eyes in slight frustration, and tried again, "Dispatch this is Timekeeper Leon, please respond," Still there was nothing, "Dispatch..." He stopped short, the horrible sense of coincidence trickling through his mind. Everything else had been so similar to her what would make this different? "What do you want?" he spoke lowly into the radio.

"_Tick tock goes the clock,"_ a voice crackled through the speaker, soft and female, _"And what now shall we play?"_ Leon picked up his personal radio, only to hear the same voice coming through, _"Tick tock goes the clock. Now the summer's gone away?"_ A laugh was heard, _"Time is ticking down, one second at a time and you still think that this is a coincidence? Am I making it too difficult or...do you not want to see me?"_ Leon closed his eyes, _"You are a Timekeeper and yet you cannot bring yourself to see the one who has time left to play this game. I'm getting bored. Tick tock, goes the clock. And all the years they fly. Tick tock, and all too soon. You and I must die,"_

**So what did you think? Leave a review and I'll update a lot quicker. Promise.**_  
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	2. Chapter 2: Headaches and Radios

**Disclaimer: 'In Time' does not belong to me.**

**The reviews that I got brightened my whole day. Seriously. And I had a four hour music composition exam. So thank you _Lily_ and _Evangeline Evergreen_. Your comments made my day. I only hope this chapter fairs just as well.**

Leon sat back in his car, the static of the radio filling the vehicle. He could feel the beginnings of a headache coming on. This day could not have gotten any worse. First a mutilated woman found dead on a sidewalk, then a red petal located by the body, seemingly random and then finally a voice on the radio. He would wager that it would be another couple decades before he had a day as bad as this.

He thumped the steering wheel in sudden furious anger, ignoring the instant throb of pain that shot through his arm. This whole situation was impossible...improbable...something of that description. Leon was sure of it. There was absolutely no logical explanation that the voice on the radio could be the person that he was thinking of. But there was also no chance that Leon was wrong. He had heard that voice before, many times in the distant past, but he wasn't likely to forget that calibre.

Or that familiar mocking tone.

He started slightly in surprise as the radio fizzed into life again, _"Timekeeper Leon, this is Dispatch, please respond,"_ he quickly picked up the receiver, _"Timekeeper Leon, your receiver went offline ten minutes ago, respond,"_

"Dispatch this is Timekeeper Leon," he replied, thinking over the last few minutes, "I believe there is something wrong with my radio, someone contacted my receiver which wasn't Dispatch. Is there any way to find out where it came from?"

"_No,"_ the woman at Dispatch answered smoothly.

"No?" he was slightly bemused, "What do you mean by that? I know someone contacted me who wasn't at Dispatch. I need to find out where the call came from. It's rather important,"

"_My apologies, Timekeeper Leon,"_ she told him, _"But that call that you received was not what caused your receiver to go offline. The call that you picked up was broadcast to every radio belonging to the Timekeepers," _Leon sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He could feel that headache growing already. He quickly took a look at his clock. 0000:00:0:08:49:21. He had enough time to get back to Headquarters. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to get to go back to his apartment tonight, _"Your radio went offline ten minutes ago, Timekeeper Leon,"_

"I have no idea why that was. To my knowledge the radio was working the entire time," Leon started the car up, pulling out swiftly in the road, "I'll be at Headquarters within the hour," he pressed the accelerator and the car sped up. He wanted this to be over and done with as soon as possible. Even if he knew that realistically that wouldn't be the case in the slightest.

An hour later and the car skidded into the parking lot outside the Timekeeper Headquarters. Grey and immense, with concrete looking down from looming heights, the whole building could be mistaken for the appearance of a prison. Perhaps a long time ago, in a time before the need for the Timekeepers, it had been used for such a thing, but now it was the centre point for the hustle and bustle of the Timekeeping force, and its associated professions.

Leon got out of the car quickly, striding up the stairs at a pace that he had never quite been able to drop. 0000:00:07:31:11. He wasn't up to his usual time saving standard. He brushed the thought aside with an irritated frown passing over his face. He didn't need distractions, not at this point in time. Not at any point in time.

People always moved out of the way when Leon walked past them. He didn't pretend to himself that it was anything to do with his physical appearance. Compared to most of the other Timekeepers, he was thinner and of not of an overpowering height, but that wasn't why most of the Timekeepers moved out of his way. It was from the sheer unnaturalness that always accompanied Leon.

Although not one of the most senior Timekeepers within the force, he was, however, one of the oldest. He'd been in the field for nearly fifty years, longer than nearly every other Timekeeper. Usually, as an unofficial rule, Timekeepers retired from active duty around thirty five to forty years of active duty and took a desk job. Leon had exceeded that by almost a decade, and didn't show any signs of stopping. He had no intention, barring physical disability, of stopping quite yet. He frankly couldn't see any interest in being surrounded by paperwork, and he had enough in his job in the present time.

This quirk made him stand out from many of the Timekeepers, especially the younger ones, but he didn't let it bother him. Those Timekeepers regarded him as a distant figure, someone that was easy to take orders from, but rather silent when within the walls of Headquarters unless he wanted information from another Timekeeper.

Leon made a beeline towards Timekeeper Ellini, a Timekeeper that had taken a desk job after twenty years, and one that he knew fairly well, having worked with him for several years before retiring from active duty ten years ago. She looked at him when she saw him head towards her, "I would have thought that you would have clocked off by now, Timekeeper Leon," she informed him.

"The broadcast, Timekeeper Ellini," he said simply and she nodded understandingly, "It was to every single radio that the Timekeepers owned?"

"Every single one," she answered, typing into the computer, "Don't ask me how they managed to do it. If they weren't a Timekeeper then it should be impossible. The broadcast also didn't originate from here either. We haven't had the time to trace it. Most of us had been packing up to get some sleep. I had more time than everyone else, so I stayed behind to do some background. I've run the voice through some recognition soft..."

"You know who it is," he cut smoothly through her and she turned her head towards him, with a slight concern showing through her eyes, "Timekeeper Ellini..."

"Leon," she said plainly, abandoning the formal tone, "Listen to me. I know it seems like a coincidence, the murder victim, and now the broadcast. But that case has been closed for a decade now. There is no way that it is who you think it is. Even I thought so, but we can't allow ourselves..."

"It's not a coincidence; trust me," he dismissed her words easily and she leaned back in her chair, folding her arms, "Who did the software come up with when you ran the broadcast?"

She sighed, almost angrily, "It came up with her," she relented, and Leon allowed a smug expression to flit over his face before allowing the emotionless expression to settle there again, "But they might have manipulated the voice," he shook his head, "Leon, what you are suggesting is impossible. The case was closed over a decade ago, you caught her, and she is spending the rest of her life, watching as her time ticks down in a prison cell. She's not allowed visitors from the public, no telephone calls to anyone that isn't permitted, and what she reads is even regulated. There's no way that it could be her,"

Leon placed his hands together, "When I was investigated that case, ten years ago, I learned that I couldn't discount anything because everything was part of the picture," he explained, "So I am not going to rule anything out now. Ten years ago I was less experienced,"

"Not by much," Ellini inputted, "You still caught the bitch that did it,"

"I got lucky, and she got arrogant," Leon said patiently, "But I learned that I couldn't take anything for granted. And now it seems like that case is once again coming back to play the second act, and I know that everything is connected together. The murder, the petal, the broadcast. All leading me back to one thing,"

"You aren't going to go..." Leon looked at her silently, "Then that is your choice, Timekeeper Leon," she had reverted back into the formal tone again, "However, I would advise that you wait until you have slept and received the autopsy report in the morning,"

Leon hesitated but nodded roughly. He did need to sleep, being exhausted tomorrow would only serve to slow him down, "I'll see you tomorrow then, Timekeeper Ellini," he said turning away from her, before hesitating slightly, "And thank you for your...opinion on this case," the words were difficult to say. He was unused in saying them.

"Don't forget there was others on that case as well, Leon," Ellini replied, returning to tap on the computer, "Not just you. She played all of us; admittedly you more than the rest of us. But, Leon, don't forget that we Timekeepers will always have your back,"

Leon nodded sharply, walking away from the woman. He had a lot to think about before tomorrow.

But first he was going to get some sleep.

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	3. Chapter 3: Mortuaries and Murder

**Thank you for all those that reviewed. _Lily, geofeo _and _PSPGamerGirl. _Reviews really do help keep up motivation.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Chapter Three: Mortuaries and Murder

Murder wasn't uncommon.

Before when the currency was actual currency, murder was regarded as an irredeemable crime. A crime which sentenced you to the longest jail time, and the highest disgrace possible. Those that killed another human being, nearly two hundred years ago were forced to bear society's hatred, poor prison food and you were unlikely to ever be accepted into civilisation again. Back in that time, true murder was also rather singular.

Since the dawn of the age where your life was your income and the very fact that you were alive was a hazardous journey, the rate of people murdered on the streets rose substantially. Now that your money was your life, people would kill to gain a few precious hours. People would die in order for others to live. It was a mixture of desperate survival instincts, greed and helplessness. Especially in the ghetto, where you were lucky to have more than three days on your clock.

That wasn't to say that society didn't approve of murder...when it was within their own time zones. The upper classes of the world disregarded the mass murder that happened within the ghettos, unconcerned with the daily troubles of most of the population of the country. They just didn't care. However when the tables were turned and one of their own was killed then they turned full force at the perpetrator, bringing all their hypocritical weight down upon them until they snapped, indifferent to the reasons why there had been the need for murder in the first place. But that was the world that they lived in, and no one could make a jot of difference.

Murder had also evolved in a way. Murder and robbery now went almost exclusively hand in hand with each other. Murder was time wasteful, so the main reason for killing was to gain more time than the murderer had lost. People couldn't literally afford to spend hours planning another's death. Unless of course, you were hired to do so. And those people were rarer than finding a time capsule with more than an hour on it.

Serial murderers...were non-existent.

_Almost _nonexistent. Leon thought to himself as he walked into the Timekeeper Headquarters. There had been a few bloodstained names within the history books; people with names that brought a shudder to most of the population, accompanied with a warning about what had happened to the wrongdoers that had committed those unspeakable crimes. But they all born the same characteristics as each other. Upper-class, with decades of time at their disposal, those people had turned to murder after exhausting all other routes of interest. An occupational hazard, he thought, of having far too much time and an overinflated ego.

He could count on one hand those that broke that general rule and he would still have fingers left over. Murder was simply not economical enough to have many people buy into it. And Leon silently hoped that it would remain that way.

He had gotten five hours sleep. Usually that would have been counted as a good day, except his mind had decided to revisit past memories and he had found himself, once or twice, waking up briefly in a cold sweat, the distant sound of screaming still echoing in his ears. But the main point was that he had gotten some rest, which made him more alert than he had been the previous night. And memories be damned, that was a good thing.

He was making good time. His clock showed 0000:00:0:10:23:43. He had collected his hours earned this morning before he arrived at the Headquarters. He had placed most of it in his personal account. He never kept more than a day on him. Many a Timekeeper had been left with nothing but a few minutes on his clock when patrolling around areas such as Dayton. Leon had made it a resolution that he was not going to be included in that statistic.

"Ahh Timekeeper Leon," he turned to look in the direction of the voice, and suppressed a faint sight of irritation. Timekeeper Dent, a man that was as irritating as a persistent mosquito. Incredibly fastidious about the smallest detail, Dent was the type of Timekeeper that would go as far as the rulebook would take him, and not beyond. This was opposed to Leon who, while upholding most of the laws, would go as far as he possibly could in order to get the result that he wanted. Even if it had gotten him into trouble with the higher-ups, and earned him a large pile of paperwork.

Predictably, Leon and Dent had never quite managed to hit it off since Dent joined the Timekeepers, nearly ten years ago.

"Medical Examiner Peters is downstairs with Timekeeper Korsqq in the mortuary," Dent pressed on, flourishing his hands unnecessarily in the way that always accompanied him, "They asked me to find you," Leon merely nodded, turning away and walking towards the doors at the far end of the room, "Appreciation doesn't cost a thing,"

Leon ignored him.

It took him precisely four minutes to get to the mortuary which was located in the basement of the building. As mortuaries so often were, the temperature of the place was close to freezing, and Leon was glad that he had brought a coat. Bodies of various cases lay on sterilised steel tables and his footsteps towards the two men at the other end echoed loudly on the tiled floor. A computer whirled loudly in a corner with its lights flashing dimly and x-rays of bones showing various degrees of damage hung on the lit walls. He was glad that he never had to spend a significant amount of time within this particular room of the Timekeeper's Headquarters.

"Ahh Leon, I was just about to send out a search party," Peters was pouring over the dead woman's body with a magnifying glass, examining something that he had found interesting, "You've come just at the right moment. Timekeeper Korsqq and I were just discussing something rather odd that I've just found," he looked up at the other man, "I would have thought you'd bring tea, a goodwill gesture,"

"Not today," Leon replied, and the examiner returned to look at the body, muttering something under his breath about Americans, "What have you found?"

"It's rather intriguing," the man said, not looking up, "But I've been examining these wounds very closely. The wounds that I mean are the ones that showed that this young woman had been tortured," Leon nodded, unsure of where the conversation was heading, "However I was surprised to learn, when she was delivered to the mortuary, that only one thing was the cause of death. This cut here," he gestured to a small cut that was directly above the heart, "But the other wounds that this woman sustained were delivered post mortem,"

"She was dead when she was tortured," Leon clarified and Peters nodded, "Someone made it appear that she had been tortured, in order to give us the impression that she had suffered,"

"So this woman was dead as soon as she was stabbed," Peters looked at Korsqq, the blond man was looking at the body intensely as he spoke, "What would be the point in that then, sir? Why go to all that trouble to confuse us?"

Peters looked at Leon who returned his gaze calmly, "I believe the murderer is trying to send us a message, Timekeeper Korsqq," he answered, keeping an eye on Leon, "A message that ought to be answered, if I may be so bold as to say. And as soon as possible,"

"That's exactly what she wants me to do, Peters," Leon said roughly, "Forgive me if I seem...reluctant to bend over backwards in order to accommodate her wishes," Peters said nothing, but folded his arms and sat back in his seat, clearly disagreeing with the Timekeeper's actions. His eyes seemed to penetrate Leon who merely turned away, looking at Korsqq, "Have we found anything about her? Name, address, occupation?"

"Her name is Sara Luxembourg, she's twenty five, her clock apparently only started a week before she was killed," Korsqq read off his notebook, "She trained as a nurse, and gained her qualifications early. Lives in Week End with her parents who were both middle class lawyers. They apparently don't know why she was in Dayton; she never had cause to change time zones, which supports the theory that she was taken from where she was to the middle of Dayton,"

"Best way to send a message is to send up a red light," Peters said, slightly smugly to Leon, "You cannot deny that," Leon didn't say anything, and the British man clearly gave up on that subject, moving onto what else he had found, "From what it appears, Sara was a very healthy girl, she ate well, did proper exercise, there's nothing physical to suggest that she had nothing but a perfectly happy life. In terms of the murder, there is some bruising on the wrists where Sara was probably bound with rope, some fingernails are broken, maybe from fighting her attacker or maybe from trying to break free," he lifted up her right arm, "Fourteen minutes and one second left on her clock,"

"If I might be allowed to ask a question, sir," Leon nodded at Korsqq, "What is the significance of the minutes on her arm, apart from the fact that there is still a number of minutes left instead of taken by the murderer?"

Peters sat back, "You joined the Timekeepers six years ago?" he inquired of the blond haired man who nodded, "I understand why you're confused about the minutes. That hadn't been released to the press," he eyed the man, "You have no doubt heard of the Red Petal Murders that occurred nearly ten years ago. Thirteen victims, tortured, killed, and found with a single red petal by the body," Korsqq nodded, "I'd be immensely surprise if you hadn't heard of it, it is the most recent serial murders," the man tapped the crooked scar on his face, "The minutes refer to a...tallying system that was on the bodies, something that we never released to the public. For every single murder, a minute was added onto the clock. By the thirteenth murder, there were thirteen minutes on the clock,"

"So whoever killed Sara Luxembourg is sending a message saying that they are there to carry on the Red Petal Murders," Korsqq made the jump easily. Leon was quiet throughout the conversation, preferring to allow Peters to give the very quick rundown of a case that had lasted nearly five years, "The point..."

"Yes, a point is made to tell us that someone wishes to restart the Red Petal Murders but coupled with the broadcast that was made a mere few minutes after Timekeeper Leon arrived, the message also seems to incorporate the manipulations of the original killer,"

"I was aware that the Red Petal Killer was in Month Close Prison," Korsqq frowned, and Leon nodded slightly, "How could she have made the broadcast if she's watched daily by the Timekeepers,"

"She is indeed watched most carefully," Peters looked most enthralled by the story he was telling, "And that brings us full circle. Only someone who knew the case file could have known about the time on the clock, and the only people who know about that are Timekeepers who were on the case and Marie Howard who was the original killer,"

The doors of the mortuary opened and Ellini walked in, her face twisted in a contorted frown, "What is it?" Leon asked her.

She looked at him silently, and Leon privately thought that the temperature had dropped a couple of degrees. He already knew what she was going to say before she opened her mouth. "Another body has been found," she told him, swallowing heavily, "Fifteen minutes on her clock, red petal next to the body," she bounced nervously on her feet, "Gabrelli wants to talk to you,"


	4. Chapter 4: Directors and Bridges

**Disclaimer: Not Mine.**

Chapter 4: Directors and Bridges

Giovanni Gabrelli was a man of words, not actions. He disliked methods of violence, preferring softly spoken persuasion to do its work. Physical force, he felt, lowered the whole reputation of the profession and created problems-and people- that he would rather not have to deal with.

He had risen quickly through the ranks of the Timekeepers, taking a desk job relatively early in his career, his diplomacy skills better suited for office work than out in the field. From there, he had managed to become one of the youngest deputy directors that the Timekeepers had ever had. At the age of 55, he now spent his time managing international and internal affairs and making sure, above all else, that nothing threatened the relatively peaceful stability of the Timekeepers.

Which was why he now had a problem.

In the space of two days, two bodies had turned up, bearing the distinctive trademarks of the Red Petal Killer. Red petal found, the numbers rising with every death, signs of torture. And yet the Red Petal Killer was safely locked up without any chance of being set free. He should know; he was required to make a monthly visit to see her.

He knew that she was aware of what was going on outside the walls of her prison. Earlier that day he had been told that for the first time in ten years, Marie Howard had spoken willingly to the guards that were stationed outside her cell. On the same day that the first victim had turned up in the streets of Dayton, she had asked how the weather was. All was done with a smile on her face. The guards at that time hadn't realised the significance of her question and had dismissed it. When the news had filtered through, they had been quick to place her under high alert. Now the second body had turned up, and Gabrelli was under pressure to do something quickly before pandemic broke out amongst the Time Zones.

There was a knock on the door of the office, "Come in," he said softly, and sat back as Raymond Leon walked into his office, "Sit down," he gestured slightly to the chair in front of him. Timekeeper Leon had always made him wary. He had been a Timekeeper before Gabrelli and had remained a field agent even after the younger man had left. Like many other people, he felt Leon was slightly unnatural. Who wanted to be in danger forever?

Nevertheless, he recognised that Leon was perhaps one of the best Timekeepers in the force. And Gabrelli recognised the usefulness in having a Timekeeper that old in the system. However he also felt that Leon could prove to be a liability. A double edged sword and he hoped that this proposal wouldn't backfire.

"You wished to see me, sir," As usual, Leon's face was expressionless and Gabrelli faltered slightly at the sign of it. How was he going to broach this subject to him?

He shuffled the papers lying on his desk, "You are aware of the new development, Timekeeper Leon?" Leon only nodded slowly, "The second body in the space of two days, wearing the signs of the Red Petal Murders, and then the broadcast that was made late last night," Gabrelli tapped the tabletop, uncomfortable with where this conversation was heading, "Naturally, Marie Howard has been placed under even more security than previously," he looked at the older man, "The Director and other deputies feel that...under the circumstances...that more information is needed. From the source of the problems,"

Leon's face still didn't show any emotion, "Are you suggesting that someone go and talk to her?" he inquired, and Gabrelli nodded slowly, "Ten years ago, it took five months to get anything remotely relevant out of her, and even then it wasn't what we wanted at the time,"

"Which is why we want you to talk to her," Leon didn't appear to react to that, and Gabrelli took that as a good sign and pressed on, "Ten years ago, you managed to catch and arrest Marie Howard. You were the one she confessed to, the only one she would talk to," Gabrelli hesitated, "And of course, you have a lot of personal..."

"The only reason that she confessed to me was because I sacrificed a lot in return," Leon cut through his superior's words, "I doubt she would talk as easily to me again,"

The Deputy Director clasped his hands together, "I believe you would be wrong in that, Timekeeper Leon," he told him, "In all the time that I have been to see Marie Howard, she has never once said one single word unless it was forced from her. She doesn't speak to anyone unless it was for a reason. The broadcast yesterday was directed at you, that I have no doubt," he looked at the man curiously, "You have not visited Month Close State Prison once in ten years?"

"Once, eight years ago," the blue eyed man replied coldly, "I didn't speak to her and I was only there for ten minutes. If I may be blunt, Deputy Director Gabrelli, I do not feel that talking to her will achieve anything apart from give her satisfaction about how easily we do as she asks. She doesn't do anything without consequences,"

"Yesterday morning, for the first time in ten years, Marie Howard willingly talked to one of her guards," Gabrelli said bluntly, "Somehow, she's managed to coordinate two murders from behind bars. Her telephone calls are monitored, any letters are checked thoroughly and she's not allowed a single visitor which we don't have paperwork on. But somehow she managed to make a broadcast, and murder two people via an accomplice. We need to find out how she did it, and we need to find out quickly before another body turns up and the media move their eye in our direction,"

"If you feel that is wise, Deputy Director Gabrelli," Leon stood up, "When should I make my way there?"

"This afternoon," Gabrelli replied, inwardly relieved that Leon hadn't resisted more against this idea. But then, he suppose, Leon had always had the tendency to do what was expected of him. If this was the only way through the case then he would visit the one person that he didn't want to ever see again, "The guards have been notified to your arrival, and are expecting you. They will informed you of the rules that have been set in place," he pulled a file towards him as the taller man walked towards the door, "Timekeeper Leon?" the man looked back, and Gabrelli felt the tips of his ear grow slightly red, "The telephone calls? Have you ever listened to the messages that she's left or even have the wish to pick up the phone?" he felt ashamed of even asking.

"No," Leon answered, "I don't feel that there is any reason that I need to listen to what she has to say to me," Gabrelli looked away from the stare, surprised at the blunt honesty, "And the day that I pick up the phone is the day I forgive her for what she did. I suppose you know the contents of the messages?"

"Yes," Gabrelli stated, "They're in her file; I have to read what her correspondences are every month. Perhaps you should read them. They're very...poignant,"

Leon seemed to show a slight smile, but it was perhaps just the light, "Good day, Deputy Director Gabrelli," he inclined his head and striding out of the office without a backwards glance. Gabrelli wiped his brow. That had gone better than he honestly expected.

* * *

><p>How has he ended up here?<p>

Leon stared at the whitewashed walls of Month Close State Prison, silently dreading every footstep that he had to take closer to the person that lied within. How long had it been since he was last here? Truth be told, when was the last time any Timekeeper willingly visited here? The occupants were only those that were deemed a danger to society. Most crimes were punished by time being taken from them. Only certain crimes gave you any time within prison. To visit them was not a job that many Timekeepers relished. And he had been ordered there.

He walked quickly across the tarmac, walking up the steps slowly. He knew he was wasting time being this slow, but he couldn't help himself. Pushing the door open, he walked over to Timekeeper Klass who had the unfortunate occupation to be stationed here, "Are you here for business or personal interest, Timekeeper Leon?" She smiled at him, as he handed her his gun. He looked pointedly at her, "So you're here about the broadcast, and the copycat murders. It's been the main topic of conversation for our residents,"

"What was she doing at the time?" Leon asked, "If every radio was broadcasting the same message then her guards would have heard it on their radios. She would have known when it was happening. What did she do?"

Klass shrugged, "Not much, sir," she replied, "She had already spoken that day so we were keeping a closer eye on her. She never talks to us," she swallowed, "I don't know, sir. She was just lying on her bed, looking at the ceiling. There's more security around her now than there was when she arrived here. No one can figure out how she was able to get it out without anyone picking it up. Everything she does is monitored. Letters phone calls, even her words," she raised his gun, "You'll get it back when you leave here, Timekeeper Leon. You need to go straight down the corridor; it's the door at the end. The guards there will brief and scan you,"

"Thank you, Timekeeper Klass," Leon said, turning and walking away from the desk. He ignored the looks that the other guards gave each other as he passed them. He thought he faintly remembered them from eight years ago. He directed his thoughts back to the main topic at hand, walking down towards the door at the end of the corridor. How had Gabrelli managed to persuade him into coming here? Every doubt that he had came flooding back to him, and he almost turned back. He steeled himself; there was a reason why he had to do this. He had to find out why she was doing this now. Ten years was a long time.

The door opened automatically when he approached it, and he went inside, his eye quickly growing accustomed to the white interior, "Timekeeper Raymond Leon," a guard at a desk said and he turned towards the man. He was reading of a piece of paper, "Occupation: Timekeeper. Age: 73. Marital Status: Divorced twice," Leon mentally rolled his eyes; he really needed to be reminded of that. The guard finally looked up, "Place all personal items in the tray,"

Leon looked at the black tray, pulling out his keys, radio, badge, mobile phone and any other items from his pockets, depositing them, "Stand in the scanner," the other guard told him, and he moved to where he was directed. Now he was here, the quicker this was, the quicker he could leave. The red light scanned over him, "Clean," he stood back, "There are a few rules which you have to always follow when you're in the cell. Do not give her any information about the victims' families. We don't think she knows the details of the latest murders, so don't tell her any personal information about that. Try not to take anything she says personally, she likes messing with peoples head,"

"I am aware of that," Leon answered dryly, "I interrogated her for five months,"

"Then you should have no problem with following the rules then," the first guard said, "If you want to leave then press the green button on the side of the cell. We'll activate the bridge and someone will be there to collect you,"

"Excuse me?" Leon was puzzled, "Bridge?"

"You haven't been here for a while then, have you?" the first guard asked him, and he shook his head, "New security measures implemented five years ago. She's on her own little island," Leon looked at the other end of the room seeing a door and about fifty metres from what he could see was a large drop, there was a room supported without any connection to the rest of the prison. Like an island in the middle of an ocean, "The authorities wanted her to be more secure than her previous cell," the guard explained, "So one of us will come and collect you when you press the button," he looked back at the rules, "Your conversation will be recorded both audio and visual,"

"Don't expect her to say much," the second guard added, as Leon stood in front of the door, watching as a bridge extended itself across the gulf, "Hasn't said more than five sentences to us willingly, and we've been here for three years," the door opened, "I'll wish you good luck,"

Leon walked through the door, hearing it hiss closed behind him. He moved slowly towards the cell, seeing a white clad figure within it. It was, he supposed, too late to back out now. He stepped through into the cell, the bridge receding behind him. Like the rest of the prison, the cell was lit with white light. The walls were made with glass and the furniture within was also clear. He looked around; there was a small pile of books resting on a desk, a lamp glaring over them. A bed was placed against a wall, the covers pulled tightly over them. The whole place was cold and formal, and seemed to fit with the memory that he had of her.

A picture frame caught his eye, and a cold anger washed over him as he saw who the occupants were. He hadn't realised that she had been allowed to keep that photo. There were no other personal items within the room. He crossed over to it, picking it up and studying it carefully, ignoring the woman who was sat beside a table, facing away from him.

"You're late,"

**Does anyone know how old Leon is? I know in the film he states that he's been a Timekeeper for 50 years, so I've assumed that he became a Timekeeper at 25.**

**Next Time: Conversations and Unwanted Memories**


	5. Chapter 5: Conversations and Memories

**This chapter was honestly the most difficult chapter I have ever had to write. I'm still not completely happy with it. The ending changed about ten different times, and most of what I did write will probably be in future chapters. But still I'm...sort of happy. You'll have to tell me what you think.**

**Thank you all that reviewed last time, and those that helped me how with the question of how old Leon actually is. I'm going to go back over the previous chapters to tweak the ages here and there. I like being accurate with these things.**

**Disclaimer: Not Mine**

Chapter 5: Conversations and Unwanted Memories

"Late?"

His voice rung out in the silence of the cell. She was still turned away from him.

"I expected you yesterday," he placed the picture down, moving slowly round her, and leaving a wide area between them, "And then when you didn't appear, I thought then, perhaps, this morning," she wasn't looking at him, "Once again, you have exceeded my expectations. Almost five in the afternoon and you are only here because you were ordered to. I believe that if you had the power of free will then I would still be waiting. And mostly likely waiting for a very long time,"

She finally looked at him, and for the first time in ten years, he looked into the face of Marie Howard. She hadn't changed, but then why would she? Forever stuck as twenty five. Perhaps she looked a little gaunt due to the lack of natural sunlight and decent food, but essentially it seemed to Leon that he had never been away. She still had the unruly black hair that never could quite decide between curls and waves. She still had the green eyes that always seemed to be half open, giving her the look that she was half asleep.

"You've cut your hair," the words sounded ridiculous as he said them and he swallowed slightly. He sat in the other seat across from her, seeing that her hands were handcuffed to the table, preventing her from moving around the cell, "Extra security measures?" he inquired.

"They seem to think that I am going to attack you," Marie Howard replied airily, shifting in her seat, the metal handcuffs squeaking with the movement, "Completely unnecessary of course. Why would I attack you when I was the one to bring you here..."

"I was ordered here," he was quick to correct her.

"It's the same difference," she shrugged, "Do you think that Gabrelli would have ordered you here just because a few people died? Of course not. That's why I had to make it...personal, tailored specifically to you. Therefore, it serves Gabrelli's interest for you to be here because he thinks you are to be the one to get information from me. It serves my interest because I get you here. And it serves the guard's interests because they've wanted me to talk for a very long time," she smirked coldly, "How does it feel to be blown back and forth, Leon? I imagine it can be quite frustrating,"

"You are not my psychiatrist," his voice was cold, "Don't try to get inside my head," she merely leaned back in her chair, her chin raised in defiance to him. It hardly seemed like it had been ten years since he had been the one interrogating her. She had been wearing the same expression on her face then, "Why am I here?"

"To talk, it's been a long time," he could feel her eyes moving across his face, "Truth be told, I had been hoping that you would come and visit in your own time, not just as business," he held her gaze, not allowing her any inch to gain the advantage over him, "I am quite ashamed to lower myself down to this level,"

"Which level? The one where you had two people killed?" He inquired bitingly, "Tell me honestly, Marie, why do you think that I would ever come and visit you willingly?"

"If you don't know the answer to that, Leon, then this conversation will get us nowhere," she answered and silence fell over them. He couldn't quite bring himself to look away from her. Why was he here? He could have put a greater argument against Gabrelli, citing a number of different reasons why he should not even be on this case, let alone sitting across from the one person that had been always able to see right through him, "I hear you got married again,"

"Divorced," he only just managed to say the word.

A laugh pealed out of her mouth, slightly raspy from lack of use, "How long did this one last?" She mocked him slightly, "Tell me, how long was it before you noticed that she was gone?" He didn't say anything, and a flash of sympathy passed over her face, "You're not a cruel man, Leon; you're just married to your job. You always try to fit with their expectations, to do the right thing, but in the end it doesn't work out, you fail to keep the charade up. So you end up alone, like me," Leon didn't react, but hating that she was as good at reading him as she had been ten years ago.

"Why did you want to know?" He asked her, folding his arms across his chest, having them act like a barrier.

"They like mentioning it," he blinked, at her slightly disgusted words, "The psychiatrists. They somehow seem to think that I will react to any information about you. Maybe I do, but they shouldn't keep trying to bait me. It might upset my feelings," Her personality hadn't changed, going from childlike to serious in a matter of seconds. He'd always been of the opinion that she was mentally unstable. Marie continued, "It is good to see you again. You left so quickly last time," he hadn't realised that she had seen him eight years ago, "Do you like my new cage?"

"It suits you," he snapped, and the smile was immediately replaced with an expressionless look, dull and bored. He had placed her on the defensive and for an explicable second, he felt a wave of guilt. He shoved it aside for another question, "Ten years is a long time to wait to get me here. Why such a long time if all you wanted to do was to catch up with me. You could always make another phone call,"

She didn't react to that bait, "Ten years?" She frowned slightly, "You know, I hadn't realised that it had been so long. Time doesn't work in here," she gestured for him to look at his arm. The numbers were flickering; time wasn't counting down, "Stasis lock. I'm here to serve out my entire sentence before I'm officially timed out or pardoned, depending on what they decide. I'm leaning towards the former," She swallowed, grimacing, "But to answer your question, why shouldn't I ask you to come now? Truth be told I also want to play a game, and I have the time in which to do that," she looked over to the picture that he had picked up, sighing lightly, "Do you remember that day?"

"Yes," he replied tersely. He did not want to go there, but couldn't help but ask, "Why do you have that picture in here?"

"The guards let me have it," she shrugged, "Sentimental reasons, it was the best day of my life," she said, "Everyone was so happy. Well," she shot him a look, "Nearly everyone was happy. You didn't look so happy, as I recall. Had there been something on your mind?" He remained silent, and Marie finally looked away, "I loved her,"

He barked out a laugh, cold and unmerciful. She didn't flinch at the sound of it, "Love?" He questioned, "You can't love. What you did wasn't love. You're a psychopath, Marie. I doubt anything can touch that frozen heart of yours,"

"I beg to correct that statement," she whispered slightly, and for a second he saw the person behind the mask that she wore. Someone who looked rather saddened by his comment. But in a flash, the mask replaced it, so fast that he would have thought that that what he had seen was merely his imagination "Psychopaths don't know the difference between right and wrong. I'm afraid I did know the consequences of what would happen, and I still do. I just chose to ignore them," Marie leant forward as far as the chains would allow her, "Everyone needs something that goes bump in the night. You should know that,"

"You consider what you did a public service?" He asked, "You tortured and killed thirteen women,"

"No..." She shook her head, "No...You let me torture and kill thirteen women," Leon stared at her, unwilling to reply, "You knew it was me, how could you not?" She smiled triumphantly, "And yet you did nothing. You allowed people to die, that's harsh, and ever so..." she bit her bottom lip, "Sweet,"

"I didn't have the evidence..."

"You didn't have the evidence when you arrested me either but it didn't stop you then," she searched his face, almost frantically, "It's all right, you know, it's a human reaction. You didn't know what would happen, you trusted me to do the right thing, and of course, in the end, revenge is truly a great motivator. I nearly made you snap," she leant back, "You see, I know I'm a sick and twisted individual, and society is safer to have me in here, behind bars, but it doesn't change the fact that you are also as equally involved by not doing anything to stop me,"

Something had changed. The atmosphere seemed to be charged with tension though neither of the occupants were angry. Leon wasn't sure what to make of it. She was as confusing as ever and he was beginning to have more questions than at the start of this conversation. They had slipped through so many subjects, never really focussing on one,. He looked at the clock hanging on the wall to see how long he had been there only to find that it had been stopped. 12:34. He dreaded to know what the significance was.

"How did you manage to get the broadcast out of the prison?" he said and Marie let out a long sigh, unwilling to answer the question, "Who have you got killing people? What is the point of it all? What was the point of any of it? Even at the beginning,"

She brightened at the sound of the latest murders, "Tell me, how did my baby bird do?" She asked, confirming that they were connected to her, "I did wonder how well they'd follow my instructions to the letter. They are such a good baby bird after all but I have told that I'm a hard example to follow,"

"They lack your...sadism," he informed her, knowing that at this point all the rules that he had been told had been shot to hell, "The torture was conducted post mortem," she didn't react, and he realised that she had already known. How had she gotten her information? There was no way into the prison to smuggle any letters, "They also are moving quicker than you. I doubt they're as careful,"

"No I suppose not," she mused lightly, tilting her head back and forth, "But you know, they are just a little baby bird attempting to fly without Mummy bird watching over them. Baby bird has to fly sometime," she cocked her head, looking at him with a smile, "Did you really think it was just a coincidence? At the beginning? The fact that there was the petal, the numbers..."

"How long is your sentence?" He inquired, deliberately trying to provoke her, "A thousand years?"

"I just have nine hundred and ninety years to go," she replied dryly, the humour draining out of her, "No chance of parole. I'm stuck in here forever unless other circumstances arise," she smiled softly, "How are they all doing without me?" He didn't know whether they were talking about her victims' families or the Timekeepers, "I do miss them ever so much," he stood up, walking past her, finally giving up with asking her anything, "You won't find my baby bird, you know," he stopped, "Not unless you have my help," she smiled, "Tell me, did she have blonde hair?"

She was talking about his ex-wife again, "No, she had black hair," he answered, and he watched as Marie burst into peals of laughter. The action made her face suddenly come to life and she shot him a look to tell him that she knew the significance of his answer.

He placed his hands down on the table, looking at her closely, trying to detect a single sign of remorse or even a flicker of self satisfaction. All he got was the cold hard truth, something that he didn't particularly want, "Do you dream much, Ray?" she asked him, when she had stopped laughing.

He fought the urge to recoil. This conversation was suddenly veering into dangerous waters, "Sometimes,"

"I often wonder what it would be like to dream," she murmured, her tone slightly wistful, and her eyes unfocussed, "I do see them though, remember how it was like to..." he moved away, pressing the button on the side of the door, "You have twenty four hours to start at the very beginning and find what links the two women together. There's a reason in everything. If you don't succeed then my baby bird kills another. Because Ray..." she turned around in the chair to look at him in the eye, "Everything that happens from now on is down to your actions. Tick tock, goes the clock, we laughed at time and mourned her. Tick tock, goes the clock...even for the keepers," she dissolved into laughter again as the door slid shut behind him, and he was determined that he should never return.

It was a pity then that Leon wasn't there to hear the laughter turn into tears of sadness.

**Marie's hard to write. On one hand you need her to be at least sane enough to have an intellectual conversation, but on the other, you've got to recognise that she's been in solitary confinement for ten years with mainly only guards and a psychiatrist to talk to. It'll be enough to drive anyone insane. And she wasn't exactly sane to begin with. So it's hard trying to find that balance.**

**Reviews=new chapters. It's a guaranteed equation.**

**Next time: Archives, Dust, and Librarians.**


	6. Chapter 6: Archives and Dust

**Christmas present to you all today. I've been ill this week so this isn't my favourite chapter. ****But as it is Christmas...And all the reviews are got made my day.**

**Disclaimer: Not Mine.**

****Update: 14/04/12- Edited this a little, because I realised that the plot wouldn't make sense for the next chapters.****

**Chapter 6- Archives, Librarians and Dust**

22:00:00

The Public Archives. A vast building, one that was championed by many scholars alike, was where Raymond Leon now stood. A building that housed all the files of the case he was now investigating. And he didn't even know if he was going in the right direction. Fantastic.

Why was he jumping for Marie? He really wondered why. She was a pathological liar, she was mentally unstable and she treated the whole situation as if it was a game that could be played out, like chess. On second thoughts, the whole situation was like chess, with Marie and him on opposite sides of the board, playing against each other. And she seemed to be winning. So why was he even bothering to try when he knew that this was just a game?

'Because lives were at stake', his thoughts replied back to him. 'You can't stop playing because somewhere there is another woman being tracked down and will be dead in less than 22 hours if we don't find a link between Sara Luxembourg and Raquel Lighthower. The name of the second victim had been radioed over to him by Korsqq who was even now searching through the evidence locker to find something on the two women. Peters was also working on the bodies to see if anything physical held the connection. And he was at the Public Archives to go over a case that once upon a time, he knew from the inside out.

And there was something about Raquel Lighthower that nagged at him. He knew that name from somewhere.

He pushed open the door and couldn't restrain a sneeze. The smell of dried old books always made him sneeze. He shook his head to clear the feeling and moved towards a shelf. Now would Red Petals Murders be under R for red, or M for murders? Or was it neither and under H for Howard? Or perhaps T for Timekeepers? He needed to get a move on with this. Time was something he couldn't afford to waste at the moment. He looked at his clock. 0000:00:0:06:16:31. And he had 22 hours till his deadline was up.

He went to M, searching quickly for files pertaining to the case at hand. Mary...Morph...Murdock...Murphy. He frowned, coming up with nothing, and rapidly moving over to H. "Are you looking for something in particular?" he turned at the voice, seeing a woman standing in the aisle. She had a wide smiling face with curling blonde hair that framed her face. Leon raised an eyebrow, "I'm Lyra Starling; I'm a Librarian for the Public Archives. You look rather lost,"

He pulled out his badge, showing it to her, "Timekeeper Raymond Leon," she nodded, "I need to get the files for the Red Petal Murders," he looked around, "And I'm not sure what it would be under," she smiled, "Would you be able to help?"

"Yes, it's my job," she led him over to a computer, quickly typing on the keyboard. He looked at her as she worked. She had a quiet unassuming face, uncomplicated. Worlds away from the woman that he had left a few hours ago, "If you want the biography of Marie Howard then you would have to look under H, but if you want the case files then it'll be with the Timekeeper category," she led him around to the right shelves, "Timekeeper files are ordered alphabetically,"

He quickly thanked her before pulling out the files that he needed. He had forgotten how many there had been. He opened the first one, his fingers flicking through the pages. Blood samples...DNA analysis...crime scene photos. He pulled them out, and instantly closed his eyes, regretting the action immediately. He had forgotten what the original victims had suffered. Whoever was killing now didn't have the relentless sadism that the original murders bore. Leon felt slightly grateful for that.

He dropped the files on a nearby table, sitting on the chair, and holding the pictures up to the light. There were even more discrepancies between these and the two victims that now lay in the cold morgue of the Timekeeper Headquarters than he realised. The positions of the bodies were different, the eyes were open rather than shut, and there was something...about the women which were different. The women that were killed then seemed to run along the same pattern. Now it appeared to be random. Leon felt this was...significant somehow, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

His radio buzzed in, "Timekeeper Korsqq here, sir," he picked up the radio, "I've been looking at both victims' personal effects and there doesn't seem to be any correlation between the two," the blonde haired Timekeeper sounded troubled, "They just have the typical belongings of any woman. Makeup, mirror, keys, there's nothing particularly unique. Raquel Lighthower was married so there's a ring included in her possessions. From the evidence it just appears that the only thing tying them together was that they were both murdered by the same person,"

"There's a connection," Leon answered, "I don't know what it is at the moment, and I don't know what we'll do once we know what it is, but there is one," Korsqq was silent on the other end, "Does Peters have anything?"

"He says that Raquel Lighthower was murdered in the same way as Sara Luxembourg," Korsqq told him, "The torture was enacted after she was dead. Single stab wound above the heart was the cause of death. Physically it appears that both these women were murdered by the same person. So we could rule out that this was a group effort?"

"No," Leon tapped his chin, "No we can't afford to rule out anything yet. We miss something and we might just cost another person their life," he flicked open another file, looking at a witness statement, "Do we know anything about Raquel Lighthower? You said she was married,"

"Raquel Lighthower," there was a rustling of paper, as Korsqq tried to find the information, "Bit of a different story than Sara Luxembourg. She was forty nine years old, nearly double the age of the first victim. She was married at thirty five, and worked as an estate agent. Lived in Month Estate, and she has one daughter named...Sophie. Run of the mill...to all the world, ordinary," there was a pause, "Sir, have you considered that perhaps these people knew Miss Howard and were killed because they knew something that she didn't want them to know,"

"I haven't ruled that out," Leon said, "However previous knowledge tells me that it's unlikely. Marie Howard was always rather...solitary. To be frank, I am surprised that she even condescended to work through her baby bird," the words were spoken mockingly.

"Sir?" Korsqq sounded confused and Leon realised that he hadn't told the younger Timekeeper about that detail.

"Her associate," Leon clarified, "She likes to refer to them as a baby bird," he cleared his throat, focussing on the files in front of him, "After you've finished with the evidence, I'll need you to go and find out who has had contact with Marie Howard while in prison. Check their backgrounds,"

"Yes, sir," Korsqq replied, before pushing forward with a previously unspoken question, "Do you think that Marie Howard or her associate will allow us to find the connection within the time allocated, sir?" Leon didn't say anything, "From what has been described about Marie Howard, merciful isn't one of those words. How do you know if she'll play fairly?"

"I don't, Timekeeper Korsqq," Leon said sharply, "But there isn't any fun in playing a game when you don't allow your opponent any chances. Marie Howard said that she'll give us twenty four hours to find a connection and to start at the beginning. The woman that I knew ten years ago never said anything without backing it up. She might have gone even more insane in that cell but I don't think that would have changed," he collected himself slightly, "Report back to me when you've found something," he clicked off the radio, resisting the urge to throw it across the room. Damn her.

He looked down at the scattered photos, picking up one, and seeing it reflected in his memory. A connection. There had to be a connection. And it would have to be a pertinent connection. He dropped the photo; he had to find something soon.

* * *

><p>20:00:00<p>

Two hours later and Leon had found nothing. He had four hours left on his clock and he was acutely aware that time was slipping away faster than he liked. Spread out in front of him, were witness statements, photos, preliminary examinations of the bodies. He could hardly believe that all this was available to the public. But then the Red Petal Murders had happened ten years ago, and there had been such a public movement to have the records released. He hadn't realised that they contained so much. Five years of case notes in front of him.

His radio crackled into life again, "Medical Examiner Peters," the British man's voice came through the speaker, "How are you doing with the case files, Leon?"

"Fine," Leon wasn't in any mood to properly talk, "I haven't found a connection between the two women and I'm starting to think that if there is one, it's very obscure,"

"You know that isn't true," Peters answered, "Marie isn't someone who makes things impossible. She likes someone winning against her sometimes...correction, she likes it when you win against her. It's a connection that only you can find," Leon heard slight humming, "How is she?"

"Insane," Leon replied without hesitation. He leant back against his chair, "She's even more fractured than she was when she went in there. I would have thought that ten years would have made her just a little...regretful. It seems I was mistaken. Other than that, she's exactly the same as she was. She even looks the same, maybe a little thinner," he rubbed his eyes, "Have you found anything on the bodies? Any connection?"

"Not a connection, no," Peters said, "But I have managed to pull a partial print," Leon looked swiftly towards the radio, "It's not of much use, I'm afraid, and it was only by luck I managed to find it. This murderer seems to shut their eyes and they managed to leave behind a tiny print on Raquel Lighthower's eyelid. I've managed to isolate five points but there could be millions of people matched to it. I'm telling you this because this makes it clear that this person, whoever they are, is sloppy. If you remember, Marie was always careful. There was never any chance of any evidence left on the body when she was killing women,"

"This person is going at a much faster rate than Marie," Leon agreed, "As you've just told me; they're more likely to leave traces. Eventually they're going to make a mistake which we'll be able to pick up," he rummaged through the files, "There's also another thing..."

"The murderer knows who they're going to kill," Peters finished, "Yes, I thought that would be it. Which makes it more than likely that they're watching certain people?" it was phrased as a question, "Either way, time is growing short with us. You haven't found any connection with Marie herself?"

"Not that is in these files," Leon answered, "There has to be a connection with Marie herself. She considers everyone else to be below her, if there was a connection outside Marie herself then she would deem it to be inferior. She wants to cause me pain as these people die. I refuse to allow her the upper hand in this. She's..." he ran his hands through his hair, something that marked how frustrated he was, "She's Marie. Just Marie, like always,"

"You know, I always was fascinated with your relationship with Marie," Peters informed him, and Leon glared at the radio, not liking where the conversation was heading, "It always used to be so...aggressive. Like two predators circling each other, never quite going for the kill. You did a good thing in arresting her and placing her into prison, but I'm not sure it placed the...dead to rest. You both have unresolved issues that will always be a point of contention between you,"

Leon closed his eyes, the image of a crime scene flashing before his eyes, "I don't believe that anyone should get away with murder, Peters," he said, "As Marie so lovingly informed me this afternoon, I allowed five people to die before doing anything,"

"You didn't have the evidence," Peters' voice had turned surprisingly gruff, "If you had arrested her without the substantial evidence then she would have walked and probably have killed even more people than she already had. You did not allow those five to die; you knew you couldn't have acted before you did. You should let them rest,"

"When I arrested her, I had no more evidence than I did when I first suspected her," Leon snapped before visibly drawing himself together, "I apologise Peters, I am not feeling myself today. I don't usually allow myself to...become emotional,"

"It's an unusual case and a personal case," Peters said, "Marie ripped a hole in many people's lives, and it's still painful. You have every right to feel more keenly, Leon, most especially you," Leon wished that he could say something at that point, "I visited her four years ago,"

"I didn't know that,"

"No, I deliberately didn't tell anyone," Peter's voice sounded remarkably conversational, "When I saw Marie, she wasn't repentant either, but there was a wish that she had that you would visit her. It made me think that she intended for you to arrest her ten years ago. Thirteen is a rather auspicious number after all; and of course A..."

"I don't pretend to know what's going through that psychopath's mind, Peters," Now Leon was quick to cut through the medical examiner's words, "All I know is that Marie wants me to play a game with her and she intends that the consequences to settle decidedly on my shoulders,"

He spied a sheet of paper tucked in one of the files, and pulled it out swiftly, "Leon?" there was a note of concern on the other end of the radio, "Leon, are you all right?"

"The twelfth victim: Antonia Kentwood," Leon said, "Murdered ten years ago, same M.O. as the rest of them, but there was evidence of another person at the scene," the memory flashed before him, "There had been a footprint..." it was all coming back to him, and he berated himself for having forgotten, "Can you get the medical reports of the autopsy of Antonia Kentwood? Tell me what you find. We didn't find anything then but then Marie was still around,"

"Where are you going with this, Leon?" Peters inquired, "You still haven't found the connection between the two women,"

"If...let us say if...I am right about another person being present at the time of Antonia Kentwood's murder, then we know that Marie had an accomplice ten years ago," Leon explained, "It's not illogical to conclude that the person then is the person now. Marie wouldn't have included more than one person in her activities. The connection between the women must have something worthwhile, something that this accomplice knows about. We just have to find that in..." he checked his watch, "Nineteen hours and thirty minutes. It'll be close,"

"That's if you find them," Peters didn't sound too thrilled, "Leon, where on Earth are you going to start looking for this accomplice? There's hundreds of millions of people scattered across the different time zones. Any one of those might be the killer. You can't search that many people in nineteen and a half hours. It's insane,"

"We know that this person has crossed two different time zones," Leon pointed out, "They've gone into Dayton, Month Estate and Week End in the past couple of days. That's going to show up on the system, we check those people up against our records. I can get Ellini to do that," he stood up, quickly pulling all the case files together, and placing them haphazardly on the shelves once again, "Meanwhile I'm going to go to Marie's old apartment, try and see if there is anything there that will lead me to finding something on Marie's baby bird,"

"You know that she's not likely to have anything there, and Marie never told anyone where she murdered her victims," Peters said, "What makes you think that you'll find anything at her old apartment. That place can't have been visited by anyone for a decade,"

"When her flat was being searched, we weren't looking for an accomplice, only something that would incriminate her," Leon walked towards the entrance of the place, nodding briefly at Miss Lyra Starling, who flashed a startled smile in reply, "Maybe there was something we missed. It's a good a place as any to start,"

"You're treading dangerous ground, Leon," warned Peters, "Don't underestimate anything or rule out anything. That's been your motto for ten years now,"

"I'm not," Leon got into his car, "I'm going by my instincts,"

**So things should be speeding up a little now. It's mainly a filler chapter, I think.**

**See you next time.**

**Next Time: Apartments and Pictures**


	7. Chapter 7: Apartments and Pictures

**I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in nearly four months, but this year so far is not going too well. I've been ill, and then as soon as I recovered my laptop decided to corrupt it's hard-drive, and it took about a month to get the files off it, because we couldn't find them. So it's taken about two months to find everything. Needless to say I'm not feeling too charitable towards technology at the moment.**

**But here is the next Chapter. I've also updated the previous Chapter, just changed some things around that I thought didn't fit. This isn't my favourite chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Isn't mine.**

Chapter 6- Apartments and Pictures

19:00:00

Glass crunched underfoot, the shards embedding in the soles of his shoes. Leon winced slightly, disliking the feeling, but walked further into the apartment.

It was truly a horrendous mess. The windows were frosted with tiny cracks, the wallpaper was peeling and dust lined almost every surface. What he had stepped on were the grimy remains of a shattered wineglass, the significance belonging to the past. He could tell that no one had been in here for years, nothing had been disturbed. He practically stood in the dust of memories.

When she had lived here, Marie had always been ridiculously meticulous. Everything had been clean, and dust was non-existent. Everything looked pristine, and orderly. Looking at the room now, it was like the world had been turned on its head, bastardising the value that the apartment once held. Leon was strangely wrapped up in the memories that were presented to him. So much had happened here, that he hardly knew where to start.

_"Where do you always start, Leon?"_ Marie's voice floated to him and he turned around just to check that she wasn't actually behind him. He chastised himself roughly. Of course she wasn't in the room,_ "Come on, Leon, where do we start?"_ he rubbed his temples, looking around, seeing it clearly. He was in serious trouble if his conscience had decided to take the persona of the most amoral person he had ever known. Someone who didn't understand ethics, _"We start..."_

"In the bedroom," he finished the sentence, crossing the floor quickly, and leaving deep prints in the dust. He entered the smaller room, seeing that it was as it ever had been. Going to the desk which was in the far corner he found that the drawers had been locked. He hadn't remembered searching them when he had conducted the search on the apartment ten years ago. Now where would the key be? He looked around, where would be the most likely place that someone would hide a key?

_"Where's the most likely place I would keep a key, Leon?"_ Marie corrected him, and he ignored it, preferring to study what was in front of him. He ran his fingers over every surface trying to find anything that would lead to finding a key. Where would you hide a key...? Where would Marie hide a key?

He stopped in front of the desk again. The only place to hide something was where no one would look. And no one would look... "Right in front of them," he murmured, looking at a picture of a desolate landscape. He took it off, turning it over. A key was strapped to the back and he quickly took it off. It would be Marie to have an old fashioned key, not electronic. He inserted it quickly into the desk, "What do we have here, Marie?" he took out the contents, spreading it out on the desk, "Pictures?"

For the second time that day, he stared into the faces of fifteen dead women, all differently positioned. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He didn't need to see these again. He pulled open the other drawers, seeing a few files. Nothing important, these were files from cases that were from long ago. A remnant of a life that had long disappeared. He flicked through them, the memories coming back to him, and he almost smiled at them.

He leant against the desk, looking at the room around him. There was so much here that reminded him of Marie even when she hadn't stepped foot inside her apartment in a decade. Even if they knocked down walls, painted new colours and replaced the furniture, it still would be irrevocably her. Not that anyone would want buy the apartment. It appeared that ever since the arrest and subsequent trial, the whole block of apartments had been vacated rather quickly. He slightly pitied the landlord. He couldn't rent the flats and he couldn't sell the whole block. All for the murder of thirteen...

He stopped, turning back to the desk. Thirteen murders but fifteen photographs. And he had been the first person in here for ten years. Something wasn't right. Searching through the photographs, he placed them into order from memory, finding the two anomalous victims. He didn't recognise them, and he was sure that they weren't Raquel Lighthower or Sara Luxembourg. When they had searched the flat after the arrest of Marie, they had gone through everything, nothing had been left out. So either they had missed the photographs or they had been placed in the desk afterwards. He would have to find an inventory of what they had recovered from the search.

_"What do you think, Leon?"_ Marie asked and he closed his eyes, ignoring the voice, _"Make a decision. Look,"_ his eyes snapped open looking around the room, _"The desk was locked, and the dust on the floor is undisturbed. To all the world, this room has not been entered. So explain the photographs. How could they have remained unnoticed by everyone?"_

"Because they got in through the window," he crossed over to the window and opening it. He looked down seeing a fire escape below them, "Either someone very tall or a good climber," he turned around, "But why would someone bother to place..." He stopped, "This is your doing,"

_"Mine?"_ Marie's voice mocked him slightly, _"I am merely a voice in your head, I am not to blame. This doesn't really bode well for you, if you're imagining a conversation with me. You really must miss me more that you allow yourself to show;"_ he didn't bother to reply to that, _"Do you? Miss me?"_

"You don't understand sentiment, Marie," he murmured, going back into the living room, holding the photos. Peters would know about the identity of the women, but that was later. He grabbed his radio, "Timekeeper Leon to Ellini," the radio fizzed and spat static at him, "Timekeeper Ellini?"

He hit it and it finally focussed, Ellini's voice coming in, "Timekeeper Ellini here, Leon. I've done what you asked me to do; I've checked the people going in and out of Dayton in the past three weeks. The trouble is that we don't know whether the killer kidnapped and kept the victims for a couple of days before killing them. I've managed to narrow it down to around just under five thousand people, eliminating duplicates,"

"Crossing time zones is unusual," Leon answered, "Especially from Dayton, there can't be thousands of people crossing the lines, every single day. That's illogical,"

"I haven't ruled out any public servants," Ellini's voice was hesitant on the other line, "Fire brigades, doctors, teachers...Timekeepers," Leon didn't answer, "I know I should think higher of our colleagues but I was thinking that I have to keep an open mind. It's just a precaution,"

"No," Leon cut through her, "No, you've done good. You're right not to exclude everything. Check their backgrounds, see if anything stands out, I want information on where exactly they have been within the Time Zones, see if any of them fall off the radar. You've done a good job in this," He sighed, "I'm on my way to Headquarters. I've found pictures of two women that I don't remember ten years ago; I'll need to check the victims again. I think someone's also been at her apartment,"

"She's insane, Leon, of course she's got her people playing games with us," Ellini answered, "The women that were killed were murdered with no DNA evidence and a very precise M.O. It doesn't take a genius to jump to the conclusion that perhaps they weren't her first murders. They do say that practice makes perfect. Howard is a psychopath, she gets off on twisting people to get her own way," she paused, "What does her apartment look like?"

"Dusty," he replied, "I wouldn't say that Marie is insane, she knows what she is doing and deliberately ignores any moral view," he walked towards the window, rubbing some dust off it and looking at the view, "Get back to me as soon as you can about those people. Try to see if any of them have visited Marie in prison, we need to find out as much as we can. Time is ticking down faster than I would like," he clicked the radio off looking around the flat again, and breathing in the musty smell. It was a pity that such a beautiful place had fallen apart.

Not unlike its owner.

He crossed into the living room, searching carefully amongst the dusty furniture. So there was evidence that someone had been in the bedroom. Was there anything that was in the rest of the house? He tapped the table top, thinking heavily, before looking around carefully. Nothing.

Was the pictures just a distraction to him or were they left here accidentally? Well they had succeeded in trying to distract him. These women were going to be a constant reminder in his head.

* * *

><p>17:00:00<p>

"They're women that went missing nearly fifteen years ago," Peters told him, surveying Leon through a plastic mask which was painted with flecks of blood from the autopsy he had just been performing, "Cold cases," he stripped off his filthy latex gloves and walking over to the computer in the corner and typing on it quickly, "I remember them because they didn't make sense. Molly Hooper and Stephanie Caelian, best friends. Vanished into thin air before turning up three months later dead. They had been kidnapped, the crime scene pointed to it, but there wasn't any mark on the bodies that showed that they were anything but healthy...happy girls. It was very odd," he looked at the other man, "And you say you found them in Marie's desk?"

"Yes, clearly they were placed there to distract me into finding out who they were," Leon said, smiling wryly, "And it's worked. We've got two women dead in reality and two dead women fifteen years ago. I don't know whether it's connected but I find it very odd that they've just appeared,"

"Ignore these women, Leon," Peters leaned forward, "Focus on the connection...that is all you need to do. Leave these with me," he took the photographs off the Timekeeper, and Leon nodded, "Was there anything in her apartment that would lead to something?"

"Apart from the photographs? No," Leon folded his arms, "What...you think I missed something?"

"Well..." Peters shrugged, "No, I don't think that Leon, but you have to admit that this is playing out to show us more dead-ends than ways forward. We are running out of time and you need to start working on the connection before it's far too late. We can't allow Marie to kill another person, even though it's another person," he tapped his mouth thoughtfully, "I suppose the next step of the journey would be to talk to the victims' families yourself and determine whether they knew Marie Howard in any capacity,"

"Surely they have already been questioned after their relative was found murdered," Leon answered coldly, "Didn't Korsqq ask questions when he talked to them?"

"Leon, I don't think you have noticed but we are very overrun here," Peters answered, "Of course Korsqq asked the family the standard questions to the families that we are meant to ask them. But we haven't even broached the question of Marie to them yet. As soon as we do, you do realise that media will be all over this," Leon sighed in frustration, rubbing his eyes frantically, the other man frowning with concern, "This was never going to be clean and easy for you, Leon,"

"What do you suggest I do, John?" He saw with satisfaction that the medical examiner looked slightly chastised with the use of his first name, "I have seventeen hours left to find a connection and I can't allow any time to go to waste here,"

"I understand completely, you can't allow yourself to step down when you know that there are lives at stake," the British man frowned in worry, looking at his watch which showed the time, "Look, no one apart from us is going to be up at this time of night, so you can't go and talk to the families now,"

"I know, there is something that I'm missing here, Peters. Something staring me right in the face," Leon bit his lip in thought, "There's something..." he shook his head, breaking out of the trance, "It'll come to me eventually,"

"Let's just hope that it isn't too late,"

* * *

><p>12:00:00<p>

"Got some sleep, sir?" Korsqq sat down in front of Leon, holding out a cup of coffee and the older man sighed, before taking it, "Managed to get some time to run to the coffee cart. Seems hard to sleep when we're on a deadline to meet, so I thought it would help keep you going," Leon merely smiled, not betraying the connection of thoughts and emotions that were churning around his mind. And the two were silent for a minute that seemed to go on forever.

"Did you do the background checks on Marie Howard?" Leon asked Korsqq.

"Yes, sir," the blond haired Timekeeper said, opening a file, "The guards that were on duty. The psychiatrics that were sent by the state. Her lawyer visited several times, but he usually phoned, and rarely visited," he thumbed through the phone records, "Gabrelli visited several times, and so have the other deputy directors. Then there was a visit by Medical Examiner Peters four years ago, and one eight years ago by yourself," he frowned, "Her phone calls only consist of the minute each month to your phone, and of course her lawyer," he flipped a piece of paper, frowning.

"Letters?" Leon inquired, sipping the coffee.

"Receives subscriptions from the Times and the Daily," Korsqq answered, "Two newspapers, once a day. Oh, and magazine subscription to the National Medical Society, that she started receiving four months ago," Leon frowned at that, "That's a weekly magazine. Personal letters are scanned and read in case there's anything suspicious in them. But there aren't very many. A letter three months ago from a Reverend Paul Simons, replying to a letter that Miss Howard had on the New Testament. I didn't realise that Miss Howard was religious,"

"She's not," Leon replied dryly, "Well she never was particularly religious ten years ago, and I doubt that she has changed her tune. If you have that level of control over people, then you start to think that you're God. She believes in a higher power and that is herself,"

"Why do you think she is writing to a Reverend then, sir?" Korsqq pulled out the copy of the letter, "It seems pretty straightforward to me, 'I saw your letter in the paper about how society must not forget that a man who was crucified next to Jesus repented his crimes, and was forgiven ...' it goes on to inquire what the Reverend's view on how much the Bible forgives a crime. You think that it is a code?"

"No, I think that it's Marie trying to disillusion yet another person, but it definitely needs to be looked at," Leon rubbed his eyes, "And look into this National Medical Society. Something doesn't seem right about that. It's too...banal. Other than anatomy that she used to use, I can't remember whether she was interested in medicine," he picked up the different pictures, "Radio me when you find something,"

The younger man nodded, standing up, before pausing, "We will find the next victim in time, sir," he informed Leon, who looked up at him, "There is a connection between Raquel Lighthower and Sara Luxembourg, and we will find it," he inclined his head, awkwardly, not used to stating something so boldly, before walking away.

Leon didn't have time to ponder the other Timekeeper's words for long as a shadow crossed his path, making him look up, resisting a grimace.

"Timekeeper Dent is there anything I can do for you?" he queried the man politely, inwardly concealing his annoyance at being distracted.

"Deputy Director Gabrelli sent me to inquire how you are getting on with the case pertaining to the Red Petal Killer," Dent informed him, stiffly, "You have twelve hours left, and there is a press pack outside which is ready to tear every Timekeeper that steps out of the building,"

"How did they find out about this case?" Leon asked, interrupting the man, "We haven't released anything to the media. Are we sure that it's about this case and not another one,"

"You haven't seen the early morning edition of the Times today, have you?" Dent held up the newspaper which bore the title: RED PETAL KILLER STRIKES, "It's rather a dull title, but it does its job. We have about fifty reporters camped outside wanting a word with you. They even have a picture of you,"

Leon took the newspaper, "Shit," he murmured, scanning the paper, before throwing it away from him, "I suppose Gabrelli will be doing a press conference,"

"In about an hour," Dent confirmed, "Which is why Gabrelli wants to know how far you've gotten with this case and what information you've managed to gather,"

"Marie Howard might have linked to two cold cases that we have, we think she killed them before she was sent to prison," Leon said tersely, "We now that there is someone that she is working with who is killing these people, and there is evidence of accomplices in the past. We're currently doing background checks on everyone that has interacted with Marie since she's been in prison, and we are still looking for a connection between the two victims that were killed in the last couple of days. Is that enough for you?"

Dent stiffened, "Perfectly, Timekeeper Leon," he answered, "I'll inform the Deputy Director," he stalked away, and Leon ran his hands throw his hair, frustrated. No results made him feel agitated and irritable.

He took a glance at the two photographs pinned on his wall of Molly Hooper and Stephanie Caelian. He knew that they were a distraction to this deadline but he couldn't help but want to start digging through that file, now that he'd hit a block with this case.

He rubbed his temples, feeling a headache threatening to come on.

_"You call me a headache now, Leon?"_ He couldn't help but jump slightly at the sound of Marie's voice in his head. He had to stop with this mental projection of her. It wasn't remotely normal or even classed as sane, _"You're going to be labelled as schizophrenic if you carry on imagining that I'm here, Leon. Perhaps we can get neighbouring rooms,"_

He ignored the voice. It was merely a by-product of too little sleep and too much caffeine. He checked his watch: 07:34:43. Enough time. He needed this connection.

Sara Luxembourg. Twenty five.

Raquel Lighthower. Forty nine.

And neither of them crossed over into the others territory. Living in different areas. And both seemingly completely random. But somehow they were connected. How? And why murder them now? Ten years is a long time, even if Marie didn't realise how long it had...

Leon started suddenly. Marie didn't realise that it had been ten years. She could have been any amount of time for her, but she had chosen to act now. There had been something...something that had triggered a sudden change in the way that she planned. He rifled thought the file that Korsqq had left him, running a finger down the phone calls that she had made.

He stopped on one that had been made five months ago. One phone call that lasted two hours to Jacques Le Blanc, her lawyer. He picked up the file that contained the Red Petal Murders, finding the file stating that five months ago, the files of the trials and hearing of Marie Howard would be able to be released to the general public. Four months ago she ordered the National Medical Society's magazine.

Sara Luxembourg had trained as a nurse.

Leon was out the door before the papers of the file could settle.

* * *

><p>She could hear the sound of heavy footsteps treading their way through the metal tunnel, and she fingered the heavy silver knight chess piece, before moving it on the checkered board. The light blared loudly in the room, making her eyes hurt slightly, but she refused to close them.<p>

All her little white pieces were prepared now. The Pawn. The Bishop. The Rook. The Knight. The Queen, and the most precious piece of all. The King. All of them dancing around to the tune of what she wanted, even though she was trapped in this little box of a prison. Even the man heading towards her was tied up in this game of control.

She couldn't wait to see them play together.

The doors opened slowly and she smiled slightly before stretching up, turning towards her visitor, "Ahh...I've been expecting you," a smile played around her mouth, "Fancy a game of chess, Director?"

**So...still not my favourite chapter. But I'm almost finished the next chapter, which I like a bit more.**

**Next Time: Parents and Reporters**


	8. Chapter 8: Parents and Reporters

**I'm back! And my deepest apologies for being away for two weeks, I think. Exam period has begun and I've already had to do a three hour music technical writing paper, which really made no sense to me, but never mind. On with the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Not Mine**

Chapter 8- Parents and Reporters

11:00:00

"Yes, it is true that the two women that were found murdered in the previous week were committed by someone whose believe to have been in close contact with Marie Howard: the Red Petal Killer,"

The worst part of his job, Gabrelli thought, was having to addressed the rabid pack known as the media. They were parasites living off the misfortunes of others. Anything slightly morbid and they would pounce on the story; tear the subject into tiny pieces. And although he believed that Marie Howard deserved everything that came to her, he didn't want her to be infuriated at something that a reporter wrote in a newspaper or magazine. That woman was too easily prone to violent outbursts when provoked

If he had his way, then this investigation would be conducted in secrecy, no press involved. He wasn't even sure how they had managed to get the information that they already had on this case. Probably some junior Timekeeper accidentally letting something slip to the wrong person, but he would still be chasing up whoever was idiotic to have it leaked to the papers

There were a ridiculous amount of reporters here today, and all were clamouring for his attention

"Deputy Director Gabrelli, is it true that Marie Howard is working with the Timekeepers on this case?" Kris Allegri from the Times asked over the din of noise.

"Marie Howard is not working with us on this case, although we believe she is heavily linked to the perpetrator of these crimes. She is a criminal being kept in prison," he assured them, "We will be interrogating her on what she knows about these murders, but rest assured, she will be serving her prison sentence, and she will be answering for the crimes that she has committed. The Timekeepers on this case are working as hard as they can to find a connection between these two women, and I strongly implore the public to come forward if they have any information pertaining to these murders,"

"Deputy Gabrelli, do you think perhaps that the Timekeepers that are working this case are perhaps too close to it?" he fixed Cheryl Handel from the Daily with a raised eyebrow, allowing her to elaborate although he had a feeling at what she was getting at, "It's no secret that Timekeeper Leon has a particularly personal agenda to the Red Petal Murders. His-"

"Timekeeper Leon is one of the best Timekeepers on this force and I want the best on this case," Gabrelli cut through her words, "Every personal connection that he has to the Red Petal Murders is an asset us. He spent five minutes interrogating and detaining Marie Howard. He knows how she works and he can use that to find out exactly what she wants with this mindless killing,"

"You definitely think that Marie Howard has been able to orchestrate these two murders from inside Month State Prison?" Miss Kolkov demanded.

"The evidence points that way, and Marie Howard has been placed under even more security in lieu of this revelation until we find this accomplice," he answered stiffly, "She will not get away with this and she will be even more closely monitored,"

He nodded at another reporter, "A serial killer is walking around the streets, and you didn't make a formal statement until this morning when we arrived," Andrew Bertram from the Monthly Post demanded, "Don't you think that the public should have been notified as soon as Sara Luxembourg was murdered?"

"We are dealing with a serial killer who wasn't caught for nearly five years," Gabrelli stressed, "A serial killer who has managed to orchestrate two murders behind bars. Naturally we wished to keep the public from panicking or being whipped up into hysteria. We need this case to be solved unheeded by obstacles. Time is of the essence and we don't want to allow this killer to slip away from us. The Director and the Bureau do not wish for a repeat of ten years ago to occur again,"

"What advice would you give to the public?" Jonathan Swift from the Weekly called out, "Will there be more Timekeepers on the streets to keep a vigil?"

"Common sense precautions," Gabrelli said, "Do not go anywhere alone. Make sure someone knows where you are at all times. Avoid any areas that might be shady, and keep a phone on you. Until we find a connection between the victims, we don't know who is next to be targeted,"

He was prepared to step down from the podium when Miss Handel called put from the crowd, "How do you know that there is a connection between. Sara Luxembourg and Raquel Lighthower? They lived in different time zones, had different lives, were completely different ages. How can you be sure that there is a connection?"

Gabrelli sighed, his hands resting on the sides of the podium, "Because Marie Howard has given us a deadline to find the next person with the same connection," he said tiredly, "No more questions," he stepped down walking into the building. He checked his watch; they were running out of time.

* * *

><p>10:30:00<p>

Leon was speeding along the road, hitting his radio on the dashboard, trying for it to work. What was wrong with it? Maybe he just needed to replace the battery.

"Do you want to borrow mine, sir?" Korsqq asked him, holding out his radio. Leon had run into his office, quickly double checking different things on his files, before telling the younger Timekeeper that they needed to visit the Sara Luxembourg's parents.

Leon took the radio, "Timekeeper Ellini, this is Timekeeper Leon," he spoke into the speaker, "Did you find cross reference those people with Marie?"

"I did, but I didn't find very much," the female Timekeeper answered, "Her lawyer Jacques Le Blanc has crossed those time zones, but then he's been making trips like that nearly every month. The Timekeepers that work in the prison, the guards that work there, Gabrelli...the Director. There's too many variables to see with this. Did you find something?"

"Five months ago, the court records for Marie's trial were released," Leon told her, and Korsqq looked at him, "The next day, Jacques Le Blanc conducted a two hour phone call with Marie. She then started to subscribe to the National Medical Society magazine. Sara Luxembourg was a trained nurse,"

"And you think there is a connection amongst all of this?" Ellini inquired, "I'm not sure, Leon, this seems to be very tenuous, and slightly easy. How do you know that you're on the right path? We've got ten and an hour hours left,"

"I'm going to talk to Sara Luxembourg's parents," he replied, pressing the accelerator on the car, "I need you to talk to Jacques Le Blanc, or at least hold him until I get back to Headquarters,"

"All right, Leon," she relented, "I'll pick up Le Blanc," the receiver clicked off and Leon tapped the side of the car as the car speeded along.

"What do you think the connection is, sir?" Korsqq asked, "Something to do with the Medical Society?"

"No, I think the magazine was a way of checking something to do with Sara Luxembourg, which shows that Marie at least knew the first victim," Leon explained, "And somehow that ties into the court files, but that doesn't put us any closer to who the perpetrator is or who is next on the killer's list,"

"Then shouldn't we be looking at the court files?"

"We could, but I much rather get information straight from the parents," Leon told him, his mind involuntarily lost in memories, "Talking to the parents is always difficult,"

* * *

><p><em>15 Years Earlier<em>

_"I hate talking to the parents,"_

_Leon looked over at the woman who was paired with him. Amused green eyes looked back at him, and he shook his head, involuntarily smiling._

_"They cry, they plead, they are rarely helpful," Marie Howard continued, as they walked towards the house, "Most of the time you can't hear what they're saying,"_

_"You're not very good with sentiment, Marie," he answered, "Perhaps you ought to let me do most of the talking. We don't want another complaint on your behalf," she shrugged lightly, her jacket hanging loosely on her frame, "Did you go and see the doctor?"_

_"Doctors?" she muttered, "Yes, he said I should take the antidepressants earlier in the evening," they stopped in front of the gate, "Tell me, Leon, do you think that perhaps the drugs just make everything worse? I'm not sleeping, I'm feeling fat, and I've still got pain in my shoulder," Leon looked at the house, "And we're just about to inform two parents that their precious daughter has been tortured to death,"_

_"A family deserves to be told what happened," he said shortly, "And who knows, maybe their daughter was in contact with the killer,"_

_He saw Marie flash a wry smile, "Now that would be rather...fortuitous," she answered as they crunched up the garden gravel, "Did you hear what the papers are calling these murders? Amazing how quickly they come up with...little monikers. Well they mustn't disappoint their readers,"_

_"I didn't see the papers this morning," he remarked, "What are they calling them?"_

_Marie appeared to study the front door, running her tongue over her teeth slowly before answering. "The Red Petal Killer,"_

_She knocked on the door._

* * *

><p>Present Day- 10:00:00<p>

The door opened to show a man dressed in casual slacks and a jumper. He didn't look surprised to see the two men. Leon saw that his eyes were slightly red rimmed.

"Mr Luxembourg?" Korsqq said and the man nodded, "I'm sorry for intruding again, but my colleague and I have some follow up questions pertaining to your daughter. May we come in?"

"Of course," Mr Luxembourg held the door open wider for them, "My wife is in the living room, please go through," they walked into the living room, and Mrs Luxembourg smiled watery at them, "They just have a few follow up questions for us, Gloria...concerning Sara,"

"Of course," she said, clasping her hands together tightly, "Anything to help catch the person who did this," she looked at Leon, "The papers say that it appears to be an accomplice of Marie Howard,"

"Yes," Leon answered, "And you will be aware that another woman was murdered as well: Raquel Lighthower," the two parents looked at each other, "Does that name mean anything to you? Because we have been made aware that there is a connection between your daughter and Mrs Lighthower. And we need to find this connection before seven tonight,"

"The name Raquel seems familiar but I wouldn't be able to tell you where from," Mrs Luxembourg replied, tears threatening to fall, "Sara was a good girl, she wouldn't have gotten involved with anything dangerous. Kept her head on...only just started her clock, gave her a week to celebrate,

Leon surveyed her carefully, she was hiding something but he wasn't sure what, "Very well, Mrs Luxembourg, what connection did your daughter have with the National Medical Society magazine?"

The woman looked confused, "She sometimes wrote articles for that magazine," she shrugged, "It was part of her course, to get something published, but she would always use a pseudonym, thought it was kind of fun," she picked up a copy of the magazine that was lying on the coffee table, and opened it to a page, "See," she handed it to Leon, "Patricia Strozzi. Does this have something to do with her death?"

"Korsqq, could you radio Headquarters and see if a Patricia Strozzi was ever mentioned in the court files," Korsqq nodded at the instruction, "And find out whether Raquel Lighthower ever wrote something in a newspaper or magazine," the other Timekeeper disappeared into the other room, and Leon looked back at the Luxembourgs, "You are both lawyers," they nodded, "Did either of you have any connection with the trial of Marie Howard ten years ago?"

"We were both in the prosecutor's office at that time," Mr Luxembourg answered, "But we weren't part of the team that trialled Miss Howard. We were just about to leave and start our own business during the trial actually,"

"We sat in on some of the court trials," Mrs Luxembourg added, "But I think everyone wanted to. I'm sure you remember that, Timekeeper, there was such a hysteria and fascination that she had been arrested and been brought to trial. Sara was only fifteen and we all went to see one of the trials," she swallowed heavily, "Poor thing had to leave halfway through, she wasn't feeling well,"

She was babbling now.

"Mrs Luxembourg," Leon leant forward, looking at the woman in front of him, and the woman looked up at him, "Mrs Luxembourg, I have ten hours to find a connection between your daughter and Raquel Lighthower, and find the next person who had been targeted. I do not have time to be lied to," a red blush spread over her face, "My colleague is in the other room, he will not be able to hear what you have to say. Believe me; I know what Marie Howard is capable of. Now, do you want to try again?"

She looked at her husband who nodded, "I don't know the details but I know that Sara had to talk to the Timekeepers, ten years ago," she sighed, "But I swear I don't know what it was for. All Sara would say was that she could help with something,"

"And Raquel Lighthower?"

"I told you that I don't know that name," Mrs Luxembourg insisted, "I remember a Rachel that she mentioned once around that time," Leon nodded in thanks before standing up, "Sara was fifteen when Marie Howard was killing people. All she used to do was schoolwork and volunteer part time. There's no way that she was involved in something to do with Marie Howard,"

"Where did she volunteer?" he asked swiftly.

"A support group," she answered, "They had meetings biweekly. Saturdays and Wednesdays. She stopped going when she turned eighteen,"

"Then it's rather lucky that today is Wednesday," Leon replied dryly.

Korsqq returned to the room, "Raquel Lighthower had something published a few months ago, it was amongst her possession, but she went by the name Rachel Lichtenstein," he told Leon, "But this was in an real estate magazine. The name Patricia Strozzi was interesting though. Apparently we interviewed someone with that name during the investigation of Antonia Kentwood. But there isn't any statement, only a note at the bottom of the front sheet,"

"Somehow I'm sensing a recurrence with that victim," Leon remarked, "Signs of an accomplice and now this. I remember working Antonia Kentwood's murder, but I don't remember anything to do with interviewing anyone other than her friends and parents. Who was the Timekeeper that interviewed her?" Korsqq hesitated; "It was Marie, wasn't it?" he turned to the Luxembourgs, "Thank you for your time, it's been extremely helpful,"

He turned to the door.

"Timekeeper Leon?" he looked back at Mrs Luxembourg, "Whatever the connection is between Sara and Raquel, they didn't deserve to be killed like that," she looked at her husband, "Sara was a good girl...I have to know...why someone would have done this. That's all I want to know,"

He turned to her, tapping his mouth, thinking hard, "Your daughter didn't deserve to die, Mrs Luxembourg, and your assessment of her is probably correct," he stepped closer, "And I am sorry that she is dead, because no one deserves to die because of Marie Howard,"

"But why?" she repeated.

"Because there is a very damaged woman in this world who likes to play games and push people to their limits," he admitted, "And she is someone who will never stop if I don't find a way to stop her. But I promise you that I will stop her, even if it takes a thousand years. I will stop her because I know her,"

"Thank you, Timekeeper Leon," Mr Luxembourg told him, and Leon inclined his head, heading out of the house.

"That was nice, sir," Korsqq said.

"I meant every word,"

* * *

><p>8:30:00<p>

"So this support group," they were walking towards a hall situated at the end of Month End, after getting obtaining the address, "We know that Sara Luxembourg volunteered here, and Raquel Lighthower might have been associated with it. Antonia Kentwood was also a member. And Marie Howard seems to be targeting its members," Korsqq clarified, "Her M.O. ten years ago was targeting random women. What do you think has changed?"

"She's acting through someone else this time," Leon reasoned, "It may have something to do with Marie, but it also has to do something with her accomplice. Whoever they are, they have an attachment to this place," he opened the door, "I'm interested to see how long Marie has planned this out,"

They walked into the reception room of the hall. It was painted a cream white colour, and it was of a moderate size. Not somewhere that Leon was familiar with. It held a warm feeling, and gave the impression of a safe atmosphere. A girl was at the computer in the reception area, and she looked up when the two men approached her.

"No men," she said immediately and Leon looked at Korsqq, "Sorry, you can't go in,"

Leon held up his badge, "I'm Timekeeper Raymond Leon; this is my colleague Timekeeper Korsqq. We are investigating a murder, and we need to talk to the members of this group as soon as possible," he looked at her coolly, "Can you go and tell them that we are here?" she looked at Korsqq, her mouth slightly open, "Now,"

"Yes, sir," she stared at them as she walked through the two doors. Korsqq looked rather amused at Leon, as the latter roller his eyes in irritation. They were running out of time. The girl shortly returned, "Mrs Cavalli says that you can come through," she told them, "Sorry,"

They nodded at her before entering through the doors. This room was bigger, and a chandelier hung from the ceiling although it gave off the same safe feeling as the reception room. Around twenty women were all positioned in a circle, all appearing twenty five, but Leon could see that they were from all different Time zones, although no one from Dayton was present. They wouldn't have been able to afford to cross the Time zones.

"Timekeeper Leon," he looked a rather stiff woman dressed in something that he was sure was from New Greenwich, "This is most unprecedented. I hope that you have a good reason to barge into this meeting,"

"I am investigating a double homicide, Mrs...Cavalli?" she nodded stiffly, "As you have no doubt heard Raquel Lighthower and Sara Luxembourg were murdered this week by someone connected to Marie Howard," he was getting tired of continually explaining this to people, "What does this support group do?"

"A bit of everything," she informed him coldly, "We started off helping women who had been affected from domestic violence before branching out to help women of all different backgrounds. I don't see how this has anything to do with your double homicide,"

"Sara Luxembourg volunteered here ten years ago," she looked faintly disbelieving, "Perhaps you know her as Patricia Strozzi," recognition bloomed on her face, "Is it a policy of this group to have fake names?"

"It helps," the woman next to her informed him, "Some women don't want to reveal who they are and so we use fake names to make them at ease. If they want to tell us their real names then they can, but we don't insist on it. It's worked well so far,"

"So if I said: Rachel Lichtenstein," the women looked at each other, "So Raquel was a member of this group as well," he looked at Mrs Cavalli, "So if we include Antonia Kentwood, three of your members have been killed in connection to the Red Petal Murders. That is shaping up to be quite a connection," she folded her arm, "What does Marie Howard have to do with this group? As far as I was aware she never joined a single group, and yet she is killing your members?"

"Marie Howard?" she laughed slightly, and Leon felt himself getting irritated by this woman's attitude, "Well, we all know how well you knew Marie Howard, Timekeeper Leon," he held her gaze, and she raised her hands, "Marie and her sister Anna joined this group thirty five years ago, with Lisa and I," she gestured to the woman next to her, "Didn't you know?"

* * *

><p>"This is extremely inconvenient, Timekeeper," Jacques Le Blanc informed Ellini, "I had a very important meeting today which I have now had to reschedule. Would you care to tell me why I have been dragged in here?"<p>

"We need to discuss your business with Marie Howard naturally," she replied, "We have reason to believe that you are connected to the subsequent murders," the man in front of her chuckled slightly, "Is that funny?"

"Yes," he told her, "I would be breaking my client's confidentiality if I told you what business I had with her. She is entitled to the same privileges as every other inmate at Month Close Prison," Ellini audibly scoffed, "I don't make the laws, Timekeeper, I only make sure that my client is not deprived of her rights as a person. I see you don't agree,"

"Marie Howard is someone who I believe shouldn't be entitled to the same privileges as usual prisoners," she admitted, "She killed over thirteen people and has now gotten someone else to kill another two. She abuses the rights that she has and no one ever questions it. Why do you defend someone who is clearly guilty?"

"Well she does pay very well," he said, "All her time collecting seconds while not being used. Her investments paid well, especially when it came to her trial," he leaned back, "And I have to admit, she is certainly a very interesting individual. I'm sure you could testify to that, Timekeeper Ellini, you did work with her,"

"And I regret every day that I was her friend," she answered, "I think that every single Timekeeper that worked with her wishes that they could redo those years again. She fooled a great many people," Jacques merely smiled, "You don't believe me?"

He spread his hands in an apologetic manner, "I am merely interested in what you have to say about Marie, I know that she's interested in how the Timekeepers are coping without her," he said, "I'm sure she'll be happy with the assessment that you give her,"

"I could care less what Marie Howard thinks," Ellini said frankly, "The woman is insane and a monster,"

"Yes, but she was made that way," Jacques replied, "She wasn't born like that," Ellini didn't say anything, "I am sure that Timekeeper Raymond Leon can testify to that,"

**So onwards and upwards...tell me what you think**

**Next time- Past and Present**


	9. Chapter 9: Phone Calls and Realisations

**I'm back, not as long as the last time I was properly away but still quite a distance, my apologies. Nevertheless, here's the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Not Mine**

* * *

><p><em>30 Years Ago<em>

_"All I am saying, Leon, is that every Timekeeper has to take on a junior Timekeeper now and again," Timekeeper Fasch told the younger Timekeeper, "You've been a Timekeeper for fifteen years now, naturally they would ask you," they walked through the building, "Realistically, how hard will it be? Just keep them in the car when talking to people, don't let them shoot anything, and make sure that they don't drive,"_

_"You are not the one that has to make sure that they don't get killed, Fasch," Leon replied, "I don't have the time making sure that a inexperienced boy doesn't make a fatal mistake," he waved a hand that held a cup of coffee, "I don't understand why Ellini doesn't watch over him. She likes all the new recruits,"_

_"Ellini's been relegated to District 8," Fasch told him, "She's been placed on double shift, the Director wanted to smooth everything over with the complaints she got on handling the fraud case. You're not going to be able to get out of this mentoring scheme, Leon,"_

_Leon ignored him, going over to the secretary on his floor. He had forgotten her name again, "I'm looking for the new Junior Timekeeper, he's supposed to be here already from the Academy,"_

_"Yes, Timekeeper Leon," she pointed to his office, "They arrived ten minutes before you, and is waiting in your office. I told them to just go ahead and wait there until you arrived. I hope that wasn't-" _

_Leon walked past her, cutting off her words._

_"Tough break, Leon," Fasch clapped him on the back, chuckling at the other Timekeeper's misfortune, "We'll catch up later, and you can tell me about your new ward," Leon flashed a humourless smile in his direction before walking to his office._

_He stopped at the door, seeing the occupant inside it. A photo frame was held lightly in the woman's hand, and he felt a slight shock when he realised what photograph it was. He cleared his throat and she looked up, towards him. He nodded pointedly towards the photo and she placed it down on the desk, "Thank you,"_

_She took the seat in front of his desk, "Wife?" she inquired lightly, and he saw her properly. Clearly appearing twenty five, unruly black hair and he caught sight of green eyes. He still didn't know why she was inside his office. The woman's mouth twitched upwards a little, "Ex-wife, my apologies," Leon didn't react to that, "You must be Timekeeper Raymond Leon,"_

_"Yes, and I didn't get your name," he said. The woman looked confused for a moment, "I am expecting someone any minute now, the secretary out there informed me that my Junior Timekeeper had arrived, but clearly she was mistaken as he hasn't appeared," he smiled mechanically at her, "I apologise but you will have to come back later,"_

_"No," she said softly, "You are expecting me," she smiled lightly, "I am the Junior Timekeeper that you are expecting. The Academy did inform you," he stared at her, "As far as I was aware, I am not a boy. We will just have to put that down to...miscommunication," she leaned forward, holding out her hand, "Marie Howard,"_

_He had no choice but to shake it._

* * *

><p>Present Day- 8:00:00<p>

Month End wasn't as stylish as its name made it out to be. With the State Prison that was placed on its outskirts, people tended to avoid living anywhere near it and so there was a rather small population for the District. So instead of houses, there were a lot of public buildings, and organisational headquarters. The name, of course, helped with trying to attract people to the Zone, with the added bonus of being fairly cheap to cross into it from other Time Zones. A week or two. Far too high for people in Dayton and very low for people in New Greenwich.

Usually Leon was fairly ambivalent towards the Zone. He had to pass through it to get to the Timekeeper's Headquarters, and it was useful in terms of finding some organisations. It wasn't ridiculously pretentious as New Greenwich and it wasn't as filthy as Dayton. Usually he felt pretty neutral towards the Zone.

At the moment, he was feeling like there couldn't possibly be a worse place on earth. He was tired, he was frustrated, and he was getting very irritated with the woman in front of him. He was could feel time slipping through his fingers and he really only needed or wanted to play mind games with one person. And Mrs Cavalli was not that person.

He flexed his gloved fingers, the only indication of his agitated state.

"Mrs Cavalli, I don't think you understand the nature of what you currently are in," he said slowly, "I don't care whether you are from New Greenwich, and that your husband has years of time. I only care about doing my job. And having Marie Howard involved only makes me want to get to the bottom of the subject rather quickly. So make both our jobs easier because me and my colleague Timekeeper Korsqq will take you to HQ, and you will be staying there a while,"

"Charming," she answered, "It may be better to tell you...Mr Leon, that you don't have anything to charge me with," he sighed, feeling more drained than anything, "I thought I was being rather helpful in terms of your investigation,"

"Marie Howard is not a victim of domestic abuse," he said, "Neither was her sister, I knew them both rather well, and they have never mentioned anything to do with abuse before," she smiled softly, "Listen to me, please. In eight hours, another person is going to die, and I am willing to wager a large amount of time that they are going to be a member of this group,"

Her smile faltered as she looked into his eyes, "You really believe that?" she asked softly, and he nodded, "Marie Howard was a damaged woman but she was a friend of mine for a long time. I don't want to break her trust, and I'm willing to wager the same amount that she'll hear that I've been talking to you. I'm rather fond of my life,"

"The Timekeepers can keep you safe, ma'am," Korsqq told her, "If you're being threatened them we have the resources to keep you safe,"

"Safe is a word I tend to avoid when talking about Marie Howard," Mrs Cavalli replied, before looking at Leon, "All those years ago, did you ever think that you would truly know Marie? She was like a riddle wrapped in an enigma, trapped inside a wooden box, which was buried under a hundred feet of rock. She hid her crimes from you, why couldn't she hide other things that you never inquired about,"

"But I also knew Anna," he informed her, "And Anna could never lie to anyone. And certainly not to me. That is why I don't believe that she could be a part of this group without another reason," he sighed, "I really don't want to be rude, but my time is running out. If you won't talk about Marie, then tell me about Sara Luxembourg and Raquel Lighthower. Please,"

"Perhaps we could continue this in private?" Leon nodded and she led them out into the reception area, "I think it's best not to speak in front of everyone else. Its rather delicate," Leon nodded swiftly, "Rachel was running from her husband," Mrs Cavalli told him, "She wanted to get out but she had a child that she said that she couldn't leave. Patricia or Sara merely helped out here when she was fifteen, nothing special," she smoothed down her skirt, "I don't know what use that information is to you, Timekeeper Leon,"

"Everything helps," he said stiffly, "Antonia Kentwood also was a part of this group as well, she was the eleventh victim. What sort of domestic background did she talk about when she was a part of this group?"

"Antonia was a woman who preferred to listen rather than talk," she informed him, "She was only a member for a very short amount of time, three months I would guess. Her brother was the problem in her life and I always got the impression that she wanted to run as fast as she could away from life,"

"Now, tell me about Marie and how she came to be in this group,"

"I knew Marie and Anna rather well," she answered, "Anna used to visit the same tea shop that I go to every Thursday, and we became quite fast friends. She introduced me to Marie and both of us told each other everything. About my...first husband," she smiled stiffly, "And she told me about her life. It was her idea to set this group up, actually, but Anna and I took over most of the day to day business. Are you sure you didn't know?"

"Perfectly," he told her, "And what exactly was Marie's story? Forgive me; I'm still not completely convinced that she was exactly what she told you. And I still don't see the connection between her, and why she would kill two women who were abused, and a volunteer,"

Mrs Cavalli folded her arms, "How the mighty have fallen, Timekeeper Leon," she mocked him, "I remember the days where you were on the hunt for the Red Petal Killer. You seem to have lost most of your pride since then," he looked at her pointedly, "I'm sure you have met Richard Daniels, Anna's father," he nodded, "I'll put it simply, he wasn't the nicest man to have as your father, and Marie didn't like him,"

"Thank you," Leon said tersely, "I don't have any more questions for you," she nodded sharply, walking toward the door, "Mrs Cavalli," she turned back to look at him, "That protection offer is still available to you if you still require it,"

"Thank you, Timekeeper, but I know that Marie won't try and kill me," she smirked, "I haven't done anything wrong, and I was Marie's friend, despite whatever she turned out to be. And it's a pity, really, because you're trying to tracking her, and it appears you are still falling behind again,"

"How do you mean?" he asked slowly.

"Marie Howard was the most careful person I knew," she told him, "The most meticulous, and the most planned personality anyone could wish for," she shrugged delicately, "You must have wondered why exactly she made a mistake ten years ago which allowed you to catch her," he didn't say anything, "There is a difference between being caught and being patient,"

* * *

><p><em>15 Years Ago<em>

_"There a point to all of this that we haven't worked out yet," Leon said to Marie as they walked down the street. It was illuminated softly with the street lamps and it was freezing, "Why is someone killing all these women? What's the point?" he drunk some of his coffee, "Maybe if we find the motive then we find the person, but there wasn't anything stolen from their person, and although time was stolen, it's only to leave behind a specific number. I wonder what they do with the time,"_

_"Use it," Marie answered, "Bank it, invest it," he watched her turn around slowly, looking behind them, "And I thought it was obvious, sir. Why they were killing the women?" Leon looked quizzical, "Fun, Leon. If it's not robbery then it has to be fun. Otherwise what would be the point, unless it was because of revenge or something else?"_

_"Revenge is generally a good motive, except we haven't found anything to link the two victims," he told her, "So I suppose you're right when you suggest fun as a reasonable motive. We just have to find the clearly insane person who decided it was a good idea to get on the wrong side of the law. I'd like to have a very long conversation with them,"_

_"Oh, I'm sure that you will have a conversation with them, Leon," Marie shrugged, still walking backwards and frowning slightly at the scene, "I'm sure they'll run for their lives, as you say, they are insane. When do you think they will make a mistake?"_

_"Eventually they'll get too arrogant, step too far over the boundary, and make a mistake," he replied, "And I'll be there to catch them, and you'll be there with the handcuffs and the car," she nodded slowly, "What do you really think about it all, Marie? If you were a killer, when do you think that you would make a mistake?"_

_"If I ever made a mistake," she told him, "Then it would probably be because either I had enough of what I was doing, that I'd want to be arrested, or it would be because, like you said, I had thought myself invincible," she looked at him carefully, "Or maybe because of no reason at all, and it was just luck that it all fell into place. That's what I think,"_

_He looked down at her, "Do you think we'll find this killer then?"_

_"I think that there is every chance of the person killing again," she informed him, "However I don't know what the future hold. Anything could happen," she looked up at the night sky, "What can I say, Leon, nobody is perfect, and not everyone knows how to make sure that they stay safe," she smiled, "You and me though, we'll be fine, and everything will fall into place. Just like it should,"_

* * *

><p>7:30:00<p>

He punched in the number for Month Daily Prison, and held it up to his ear, "Month Daily Prison," Timekeeper Klass spoke into his ear, "How can I help you, Leon? Come to brighten my day up a little?"

"Perhaps I am," he told her, "I need to talk to Marie as soon as possible," there was silence on the end, "I know that she's allowed to receive phone calls, Klass, I need to speak with her as soon as it is possible," he checked his watch, "Preferably in the next five minutes, I. Rather short for time today, and it's very important that I talk to her,"

"As you wish, Leon," she replied to him, "Every word that is spoken between you will be recorded and written down, and you aren't to give her any information pertaining to the victims' families, no matter how much she asks you. You have to agree to this or I can't let you speak to her at all,"

"I understand," he said, "Please may you send me through," there was a low dialling tone in his ear as he was being connected to the phone that would be available for Marie to use. He looked at Korsqq, sitting on the stone bench behind him, "Do you think that she'll listen and answer my questions?" he asked sarcastically.

"I think that she'll probably reveal some kind of information to you, most likely deliberately because she wants to see how far she can push you until you break, sir," Korsqq answered bluntly and Leon's mouth twitched a little in amusement, "Other than that, sir, I think that she'll probably mislead you in a million other different ways because you called her and not the other way around for once,"

The phone clicked through, "I'm here," the familiar voice said, "Raymond Leon finally calling me isn't this interesting,"

"I always thought you were insane, Marie, but I never imagined you were this depraved," he said into the phone, "Abused women, now that is twisted. Antonia Kentwood, now Rachel Lighthower and Sara Luxembourg," there was silence on the other end, and he knew she was listening carefully, "Women who had already been through hell and you gave them even more. How you live with yourself, is truly beyond me. You ought to be in a mental hospital, not in prison,"

"The jury was split on that verdict," she mused, "But you're wrong, Leon. Sara Luxembourg wasn't abused, not that I remember. She had problems, all those tiny little problems that make up humanity, but then who doesn't have that issue? But abuse," there was a sigh, "I'm afraid you're quite mistaken there. When I knew little Sara she was all of fifteen years old, a little too young," there was a long pause, "Did Margaret Cavalli tell you all of this? I had hoped for her discretion,"

"You don't choose your friends very well," he taunted her, "She told me about your father,"

"That man was not my father," her tone was clipped, "You're trying to rile up, Leon, it's not going to work, I assure you. And Margaret is not my friend, not really. If she was...well then she wouldn't be there, she'd be off doing something much more worthwhile than what she's doing right now,"

"She's running a help group for abused women," he reminded her, "But of course you wouldn't think that was important. Why did you even suggest to set it up? You got Anna involved as well, and I know that she wasn't abused, she told me everything," there was a bitter laugh, "You never talked to people that you didn't knew. Hell, you never talked to people that you did know. It doesn't make sense,"

"Think," She said, "Think ever so carefully. You're so close, Leon, so clever as well. Why would I even conceive a support group? You know me so well. Start from the beginning,"

"There's a problem with that logic, Marie, and that is that I never knew you, only a mask," he closed his eyes, "Abused women," she hummed, pleased, "All those years ago, when you killed Antonia Kentwood, you had an accomplice and that was different. That was revenge for something, she was personal, not someone that you randomly picked off the street. And now two other women are dead and connected to the same woman. Was she your mistake?"

"I thought I told you that there were no mistakes concerning me," she sang, "Think, Leon, you taught me once upon a time and now I'm teaching you. All those pieces of our lives that never really made sense, all those unanswered questions. All leading to one point, one little point that you have got to understand. My mistakes,"

"Are not mistakes, but preplanned choices leading to a plan that no one else knows," he finished, "How wonderful," he could practically imagine the smile on her face, "Except you're missing one very important point, Marie, and that is that you were always too arrogant and you always underestimated everyone else. You're practically telling me your whole plan,"

"Oh, so close, Leon," Marie replied, gleefully, "You're so close to the answer that I might actually be worried for baby bird," there was a pause, "Play chess with me, I'd love to see how you have changed,"

"No,"

"Pretty please, we can play chess and you can interrogate me and I can tell you everything that you need to know," Leon looked at Korsqq, who shrugged lightly, "I get ever so lonely in here, no one to properly talk to. No one that I care to talk to anywhere. No one of interest,"

"You suggested the idea of that support group because you were trying to find someone," he said and there was silence, "Abused women, a group of women that had been through hell and survived it. Women that had been broken so terribly that the only way of repairing them was to change what they were before, and you knew that from experience. Some women retreat into themselves, some women become stronger, and some women...some women become something else entirely. You found someone like that and you broke her mind,"

"I'd like to say it was more seeing a different perspective than breaking her mind," Marie answered quickly, "One man's hero is another man's devil, and I really did help my baby bird see the light in that respect,"

"She came to that support group for help," Leon looked at the sky, feeling utterly despondent, "She came for support in whatever hellish situation she was in and you took her, and you fashioned her into a weapon that you could use for entertainment. Picked up and then dropped like a hat. You don't care about this woman; you just want to have fun,"

"First mistake is that you imply that I don't care. I care in the way that I know how to care," she said, "Second mistake is that you believe that what I did was wrong. There isn't anything right or wrong in this world. Millions die while few live, everything can be right or wrong depending on the person. I made something stronger where it was broken and I did it without regret or pity,"

"Your whole life you've been running from something, Marie, and I swear that I am going to be there when it catches you," he promised, "Everyone who comes into contact with you catches fire and burns,"

"And you'll always be there to put them out," she answered, a note of sorrow echoing through her words, "Raymond Leon, the man who will always continue chasing the monsters because he dare not look back. You're the same as me; we are merely opposite sides of a coin. You pick people up and then you forget about them when they aren't worth anything to you anymore. And you will always chase me because I made you look back just once, and I made you regret,"

"What you did wasn't for me, it was to please yourself," he dismissed.

"Why can't it be both?" she questioned, "Why can't you just accept that this needs to happen. That fighting the inevitable is not the way to do things. Ray, you need to accept the fact that you will never be happy unless you're trying to triumph over me,"

"Molly Hooper and Stephanie Caelian," he said, and there was a sudden tension on the other end of the phone, "So they are connected to you. What story do they have to tell? No mark on their bodies, they even have time left on their clock, and yet they died,"

"Usually I'd asked where you got that information from but only one person in the world knew about those two," she replied, "Forget about Molly and Stephanie, they're just people who never came out of the dark. Focus on those that will die, rather than those that are already dead because I promise you, Ray, I promise you that those that have a shining Light to guide their path, will never be lost. And those that do not have a lamp to light their way will always be lost and serve as those that seek to catch them,"

"Marie..." there was a click and a dial tone buzzed in his ear. He looked back at Korsqq, "She hung up on me, I must have touched a nerve,"

The blonde haired man looked wary, "She's a caged animal, sir," he told him, "Caged animals tend to lash out violently when they're provoked,"

* * *

><p><em>10 Years Ago<em>

_"Am I dangerous?" Leon merely stared at the woman in front of him, "Am I a threat to all those that are in this building? I am unarmed, yet there are guards posted outside my door, and I wear handcuffs and bits of metal that mean nothing,"_

_"You know why you have to wear them," he said slowly, "You know that they are there for the protection and the safety of other people and yourself," she offered him a wide grin, showing all her teeth, "What you have done, and what you represent to this country is enough to make anyone try and enact revenge on you. You've torn apart twelve families,"_

_"Are you sure, Leon?" she whispered, "Very sure? You think that I would do that? You think that I killed all those women, leaving pretty red petals next to them," she moved forward violently, the chain that bound her to the chair preventing her from getting very far but Ellini next to him jumped back in fear, "Give me the evidence, give me the motive, and the means, and the place where I killed them. Give me the names of each and every one of those women, and give me the reason...the reason, Leon, why I would do it?" she slumped back, "Because you have nothing,"_

_"You were our friend," Ellini said quietly, and Marie rolled her head back, producing a loud cracking noise, "You worked with us, you went out with us, laughed with us. Why would you do something like this?"_

_"Why?" the word was drawn out slowly, "Why, why, why?" green eyes sparkled, "Beating around the bush, are we? Counting your chickens before they've hatched. Are their witnesses to my crimes, is there anything you can spot that links me to the Red Petals Murders," she looked at Leon, "Can you tell me, darling? Or have I broken you too much for an answer?"_

_"I don't answer to you, Marie,"_

_"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall," she sang softly, "All the King's horses and all the King's men couldn't put Humpty together again," she laughed, "Let me put it to you straight, you have a media storm outside your Headquarters, and there is nothing you can do to calm it. This organisation is broken, and I always win,"_

_"Not now," Leon said calmly, and she chuckled, "You've been here for three weeks, Marie, and I am going to hold you for as long as I possibly can," he leaned forward, and Marie's smile slowly faded, "And I will break you down piece by piece so it hurts every time, and eventually you will tell me everything that you've done. But there won't be anywhere left to hide from me,"_

_"Oh Leon," Marie looked slightly regretful, "You've finally decided to play with me, how wonderful," she smiled kindly, "And I will tell you now, just so you know. For everything that you take from me, I will take from you. Because I've taken everything from you and all you can do is struggle against me. Tick Tock, goes the clock, and all the years we fly. Tick Tock goes the clock; you and I will die,"_

* * *

><p>Month Daily Prison<p>

"Tick Tock," she picked up the photo frame, running a finger down it, "Tick Tock, Tick Tock," she placed her hand to her head, "We kicked her and we mocked her," she let out a hiss, placing the photograph down on its face, the picture hidden from sight, "Little Molly Hooper and Stephanie Caelian. Well, we didn't see that coming, did we?" she rubbed her arm, a tremor of pain running down it, "Silly Molly Hooper, Mad Molly Hooper," she lay on the bed, looking at the white ceiling, counting down the seconds, "Who did you tell, Anna, who could possibly know about those two? Who could have possibly told him?"

* * *

><p><strong>So here we go, new chapter, hope it's good. Certainly getting longer each chapter.<strong>

**Till Next time**


	10. Chapter 10: Connections and Reckonings

**I've been away, for a while. Mainly to gather my thoughts and to get over some major writing block of some of my other stories. But I have continued it on and here is a new chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Not Mine**

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: Connections and Reckonings<p>

6:00:00

Abused women...Antonia Kentwood...Accomplices...Five years ago...think, think, think. The thoughts had been going around in his mind for hours now, twisting and turning over and over in every combination that could possibly be a part of this. And still Leon had no idea what to do. Think, think, think! Marie was clever, and so was he. She would play a game that was impossible. Or did she? Just to prove that she was smarter.

He looked at his clock, seeing that he had five hours left on it. And there were six hours left on Marie's deadline. He could feel himself growing tired with all the twists and turns that this past day was taking. Had it only been less than twenty four hours since she had given him the riddle? It seemed like weeks, if not months. Far too long in his opinion. But then not enough if the sand in the hourglass was anything to go by.

"Maybe the women came across something that they weren't supposed to know," Korsqq proposed, as he spun around on the chair, "They find out that she's killed people, try and go to the police but she gets her accomplice to kill them in order for them to be silenced, so they don't talk to anyone,"

"After ten years?" Leon asked, "We know that she found out about Sara Luxembourg through the National Medical Society five months ago, through her lawyer with the court files, and I know he told her, no matter how many times he tries to deny it," he ran a hand through his hair, "Is Le Blanc still in custody?"

Korsqq looked at his watch, "He's been here about...Two and a half hours, and we can hold him for about another five hours maybe, if we're lucky. He's a lawyer, he probably can rustle up someone within the hour to get him out of here," Leon nodded distracted, "You don't think she's just killing abused women for the sake of them being abused?"

"That makes no sense," Leon murmured, "But nothing seems to make sense in this case. We have different pieces that aren't connected," he picked up the photos, "So we have Sara and Raquel, also known as Patricia and Rachel, both who published articles in different places. They both belonged to a support group ten years ago which also included Antonia Kentwood, Marie and Anna Howard," he rubbed his eyes, "And this accomplice. Meanwhile we have Molly Hooper and Stephanie Caelian who both seem to scare Marie into hanging up in the middle of a conversation,"

"We're just missing that big piece in the middle of the jigsaw," Korsqq mused, thinking hard, "The piece which you always lose even though you've never assembled the jigsaw before," he looked at the pictures of the dead women, seeing if he had missed something, "There is another way that we could go about this,"

"I know what you're thinking, and I've already thought about it," Leon told him, "You're thinking that we could wait until the clock ticks down, letting the next person die and we would have another body to work with. Another chance to get it right. Yes, I've considered it, and perhaps we should consider it further,"

"But-"

"But it leads back to the same thing!" Leon sat down in his chair, frustrated, "I know how this works. It won't stop, she won't ever stop," Korsqq shifted slightly, "And the next day they'll be another body, and another, and another. And I won't let Marie mess me around again. Ten years ago, I hesitated and five women died, including Antonia Kentwood," he felt completely drained, "She's right, I let her kill them, and I...I stood by because I thought that she'd stop. I thought she had a semblance of humanity," he shook his head, "I will not make that mistake ever again,"

"You liked her," Korsqq said, "She was your friend; you thought you could trust her. It's not the first time something like this has happened, probably won't be the last. Ellini and Gabrelli knew her as well; most of the Timekeepers ten years ago knew her. Naturally you would feel betrayed,"

"Korsqq," Leon smiled a little, "Even I'm not that deaf to hear the gossip that goes around this department. Everyone knows the story of Marie Howard and me. Hell, I think it's probably the first thing people are told about me. I've learned to live with it,"

"Her sister, Anna," Leon felt himself tense a little at that, "Do you think that she might have something to with Sara and Raquel?" Leon looked away, "Sir? Do you think Marie would try and bring her sister into this game with you?"

Leon tapped the desk, "No," he said distantly, "Marie's involvement of Anna ended ten years ago when she got placed in prison. She wouldn't bring Anna into this game. Her sister's long gone now," he tried to smile, "She made her point with Anna years ago,"

"At least there's some consolation," Korsqq answered, "In this nightmare of a day, there's a line that she won't cross," he leaned back in his chair, "Which is always nice to appreciate if we're feeling slightly self-pitying," Leon found himself smiling at that, "Jacques Le Blanc is still in holding, we could go and talk to him. He might talk to you,"

There was a knock on the door and they turned toward the door, "I seem to have been delegated to being your messenger boy, Leon," Dent walked in with a parcel, "I'd like it to be noted that I'm only doing this as a favour to Ellini who's babysitting your pet lawyer," he set the parcel on the desk and accidentally knocked a pile of papers onto the floor, "Damn,"

"I've got it, Dent," Leon said tiredly, going to pick up the papers that were scattered across the office, "Who was the parcel from, Dent?"

"No idea, I wasn't privileged with that information," Dent said, bending down to pick up a scrap of paper, "You'd think we were beyond paperwork," he looked at it, his eyes scanning, "I knew Marie Howard was insane, but I didn't realise she was that twisted," he cleared his throat, "_'Should we forgive those that commit crimes or should we take action to them, knowing that they will never feel peace with themselves? Should we damn them to save them?_" he put down the paper, "Weird,"

"Say that again," Leon said, and Dent frowned, "Not the weird comment, what you said before, about forgiveness. Say it again,"

"Err..." Dent picked up the paper, "_I am of the opinion that there are always those that reside in the Dark unable to see the Light that you talk so often about. If one knows this, and accepts it in full and genuine truth, then we should all know peace,_" he looked up, "Dark and Light have capital letters," he went back to the page, "_For we should all accept Truth as absolute and never deviate from that_...what is this about, Leon? Is it important?"

"Everything. All of its important," Leon replied, his mind going a million miles a second, "What did Marie say on the phone about Sara Luxembourg? She had problems, all those tiny little problems that make up humanity. Problems. Sara had problems. Big problems," it clicked, "And so did Rachel Lighthower, I said it myself. Some women retreat into themselves, some women become stronger, and some women become something else entirely," he hit himself on the head, "I've been such an idiot, she wasn't talking about the accomplice now, she was talking about then…when she was looking for someone. And she used the group to look for them,"

"You think that Raquel and Sara were killers as well, sir?" Korsqq asked sceptically, "It's a bit of a long shot, don't you think?"

"Not killers, but I bet they had done something that made them damaged more than they already were," Leon explained to the two other men, "Something..." he closed his eyes, "Something that made them stand out to Marie," the connection washed over him, "She told me herself, why she bothered finding someone in a crowd. Even Marie's not clever enough to get it right on the first go. Searching for how many years for people who she could twist,"

"And Sara Luxembourg and Raquel Lighthower were what?" Dent said, "Cast offs?"

"Why not?" Leon shrugged, "Think about it. You're looking for someone to help you. Someone that you can mould to your designs, someone to keep you entertained and interested. What a better way to ensure that their predecessors kept their mouth shut? Dead men don't talk after all,"

"We're still missing out the fact that this happened ten years ago," Korsqq inputted, "Yes, we know that the court files were released, but apart from a note about Patricia Strozzi in the Antonia Kentwood murder, they weren't involved. And Sara is still fifteen, she's was a bit young then, sir,"

"She was there, she was available," Leon replied, thinking it over, "How difficult would it have been for Marie to talk to Sara alone? Smile a little, talk to her with false words and laughs. I bet it was easy to slip inside her mind, hardly a challenge to someone like Marie. Sara probably didn't know until she was arrested. Her parents said that when they went to see a trial, Sara had to leave halfway through. She probably thought that Marie was going to make her the next victim,"

"Well she certainly was that, after a fashion," Dent quipped and folded his arms when the other two men stared at him, "That still doesn't explain the whole ten years between here and then. Why not just get their accomplice to kill them immediately when she was arrested? Because that would be what any sensible serial killer would do. Cover up their tracks,"

Leon opened his mouth, before picking up the photos on the desk, taking the letter from Dent and walking from the room. Korsqq and Dent had no choice but to follow him as he went into the room where Le Blanc was being held with Ellini, "Timekeeper Leon," the man looked towards him, "This is a surprise, I thought I was done answering inept questions,"

"Just got a couple more," Leon sat in front of him, placing the photographs on the desk, "Sara and Raquel, did you know them personally or did Marie just tell you to keep an eye on them?" Jacques pulled the photos towards him lazily, lazily, "Because I know you knew them in some capacity, what exactly did you tell her when you made that two hour phone call five months ago?"

"No," Jacques raised his head to look at him, "I didn't know either of them personally," he held a photograph to the light, "But forgive me when I say that I won't answer your questions about that phone call, client confidentially,"

"How did you meet Marie, Jacques?" Leon asked, and the other man laughed shortly, "Did you see that she had been arrested and leaped at the chance of representing her? I know a lot of lawyers were angling for that job,"

"You don't go looking for Marie," Jacques told him, "She turns up and doesn't give you a chance to back out, maybe because she knows that you won't back out from any offer that she makes you. You think you're the only person who she talked to? She turned up in my office, and I shook her hand the same as you. That's how I know her," he pushed the photographs towards the Timekeeper, "You were asking about Sara and Raquel,"

"What changed?" Leon asked, "Ten years of letting Sara and Raquel walk around this country unharmed. They knew what she could do. Why now?"

"Who knows what goes on in Marie's mind," Jacques said calmly, "I don't think anyone knows what the next thing she is going to do. Believe me; I was surprised when she allowed herself to be arrested ten years ago. She's a psychopath; you can't predict what she's going to do next. The only reason she's even playing this game with you, Leon, is because she finds it entertaining. That's the only reason why she gave you an extension of time until the next body turns up,"

"You seem to be cooperating rather easily," Dent said on behind Leon, "Why are you talking to us now? We've found the link between the two victims,"

"Just because you've found the link doesn't mean that you've found the next victim," Jacques shrugged, "It's all the same in the end. I don't know who Marie has working for her, and I don't know who is going to die next," he turned over the photos, "That's part of the problem, isn't it? You make a deal with the devil because you can't see the real reason why they made an offer in the first place. And when you do...there's no going back,"

"You sound like you regret shaking her hand," Leon said, "Having second thoughts about being her lawyer now, are we?" Jacques merely smiled, "What did Sara and Raquel do to make them worth noticing?"

"They were empty," Jacques answered, "Empty of life, they were merely surviving, that's how she put it. They were flawed, they weren't saints. They didn't stick to the rules. You'd have to ask Marie what exactly they did wrong, or why she lost interest in them. I wouldn't know,"

"And now she's killing the people that she groomed," Korsqq stated, "Huh," he rubbed his jaw, "The accomplice is literally killing their predecessors. You couldn't have told us this earlier? Saved us all of nineteen hours running around trying to solve this,"

"You ask that I regret Marie?" replied the lawyer looking straight at Leon, "I think anyone who has ever met her regrets knowing her even if it's for a second. I have in the past regretted being involved in her actions," he leaned closer to the Timekeeper, "I value my life, Leon, and if someone other than you had spoken out about the connection then I would guarantee that they would find themselves dead within a matter of weeks. I like my life; it's comfortable when I'm not being interrogated,"

"What's she planning?"

Jacques grinned, "If I knew that Leon, then believe me, I wouldn't be here. But," he added, "Just so you know, I feel for you, really. Because Marie's not the type of person to play with someone and leave them completely intact. Whatever she's got planned, it's not going to be pleasant, I can guess that much. Whoever she's got working for her, they probably are even more insane than Marie appears to be,"

* * *

><p><em>10 Years Ago<em>

_"Was anyone working with you?"_

_Dulled green eyes stared back at him, "Hmm?" Marie sighed as she placed her head against the metal of the table, "Four months you've had me locked up in here, Ray, and haven't even started asking the right questions yet. It's all so formal and clinical," he saw her eyelids shutter, "Wake me up when you have something intelligent to say,"_

_He sighed impatiently, "Up," he kicked her chair, "Marie, get up," she didn't move, and he gritted his teeth. After four months of hitting a solid wall, his temper was on a short leash, "If you don't get up right now, Marie, I am going to keep you in a solid cell with no windows or contact until you start talking to me," she didn't move, "I swear to God,"_

_"Don't swear to God," she murmured, her head still on the table, "God didn't rip thirteen female holes in the lives of thirteen families," her saw her lips curve into a smile, "You could swear to me, I'd be nice if you gave me what I wanted. But no," she raised her head slightly; "You're so boring now, Raymond. Where's the man who could debate with me for hours on a topic. Four months...four months of nothing. I'm dying I'm here,"_

_"All I'm asking is that you cooperate with my questions, Marie," he said, reigning in his anger, "Tell me who your accomplices were, tell me where your killing site was. Why you chose those particular people, why you let me find it out. Why you did what you did?" she straightened up, looking at him, "Why did you do it?"_

_"What are you going to give me, Ray?" she whispered to him, "You don't even have a confession from me," he stared at her, "You have circumstantial evidence that might hold up in court, but it's not guaranteed. There's a chance I could walk free. You need concrete evidence if you need to convict someone," she smiled secretively, "And the only way to do that, you believe, is breaking me into telling you my whole story," the handcuffs clicked against the metal, "Ray, you know more than you believe you do,"_

_"It would be easier if you just told me what I need to know," he stated coldly and she leaned back, "Four months, consisting of one month of baiting us, one month of silence, one month of nursery rhymes and one month of non-cooperation through sarcasm. It's enough. Answer my questions,"_

_"No," she leaned back, the table moving a little, "Why should I? You're not prepared to bargain with me, give me what I want,"_

_"We're talking about thirteen dead women, Marie, try to remember that when you go to sleep at night," he snapped, and she looked back with just a blank gaze, "Thirteen lives just snuffed out in an instance, thirteen worlds, thirteen families that will always live with the knowledge that you tore a hole in their hearts. Can you really not care about that?"_

_She was silent for a long time, just staring at him, "Twelve," she answered finally, "Not thirteen...twelve families," he stood up roughly and turned towards the door, "And you know that I don't give a damn about those twelve families," his hand was on the door-handle, "If you give me what I want, Ray, then I'll give everything to you. Names, places, dates, a full confession," he bowed his head, turning back and sitting down slowly, "You'll get your concrete evidence,"_

_"What do you want in exchange?" he inquired, and she smirked, "If you answer my questions, what do I have to give you in exchange?"_

_"Not much in terms of time and material wealth," she shrugged delicately, clearly pleased at the price that she wanted for the one thing he would reach the moon for, "For every question you ask me, I want a question of my own answered. And you have to tell the truth, I want the truth from you,"_

_"A confession for the thoughts inside my head?" he asked, feeling slightly suspicious at the very one-sided deal, "Why do you want them, they aren't very valuable to anyone," she looked at him like he was five years old, "You'd give me a confession..."_

_"And I have access to everything," she shrugged, "All your thoughts, all your opinions, what you really think about everything. To me that's worth everything. Even a few years in prison,"_

_"You won't be getting a few years, Marie," he assured her, "You'll be getting timed out," she smiled wryly, "You really don't think that any Judge or Jury will allow you to live after this?" her expression didn't change, "Oh you do, it just proves how insane you are to think otherwise. I do hope you have a good lawyer, but I suppose if you are giving me a confession, you'll have to plead guilty. Are you sure you want to bargain only the truth with me?"_

_"Perfectly," she said, "If it's my time to die, then I'll be given the death penalty. If it's not my time then they won't sentence me to death," she folded her arms on the table, and blew a piece of hair out of her eyes, "And don't worry, I have a very good lawyer, and I think he's up to the task of winning my case, perhaps not in the way that you're thinking, but I would consider cheating death to be a victory,"_

_"Even if you spend the rest of forever in jail,"_

_"If I'm placed in jail then they'd put a number on it, and they'd find some way of keeping me there. And really forever isn't that long if you spend it with the right people," she told him, clearly, "And I see that you've accepted my deal. Do you want to start asking the right questions now?"_

_He clasped his hands together, nodding, "Do you confess to the kidnap and subsequent torture and murder of thirteen women that occurred for the period of five years?" he asked._

_"Yes,"_

* * *

><p>5:00:00<p>

"Are we going to go and see Marie Howard now, sir?" Korsqq asked as they crossed the Tarmac to the car, "Now that we know what the connection is between the two women, shouldn't we inform her that we know?"

"Like Le Blanc said, we've found the connection but it doesn't mean that we've found the accomplice, or the next body," Leon answered, "So we're going to cut her off. We don't tell her we've found the connection and she won't be able to contact her friend," he raised his radio to his mouth, "Dispatch this is Timekeeper Leon," just static replied. He turned to Korsqq, "I'm going to have to borrow your radio again,"

"You'll need to replace yours,"

"It's worked for twenty years, it's not going to give out now," Leon muttered defiantly, refusing to give into the other man, and Korsqq handed over his with a sigh, "Thank you," he spoke into the phone, "Dispatch, can you give me the address of where Margaret Cavalli lives?"

"Margaret Cavalli lives at 371 Queen's Street, New Greenwich," they answered him, "She lives with her husband and two sons. It will approximately take two hours to get there if there is no traffic,"

Leon clicked off the radio quickly already putting the car into gear and speeding off, "So we've worked out how the accomplice has chosen the victims, so we've found the connection between them," he reeled off to Korsqq, looking at his clock, "And it will take us two hours to reach, Margaret Cavalli's house. And we are going to see Mrs Cavalli because she will be able to tell us who exactly Marie was close to when she decided to get into this game with everything" he breathed out violently, "Why is there never enough time for any of us in this case?"

"Do you think that Marie's manipulating what is happening within the case, sir?" Korsqq inquired, and Leon didn't say anything but focus on the road in front of him, "If she is, then we've walked into her trap. How do you know that we aren't going right where she wants us to be and right off the course that we should be heading in?"

Leon was silent for a second, before looking at the other man, "A long time ago, we were on this case and trying to find a connection," he explained, "And nothing was happening, bodies were being found and we couldn't do anything with the little that we had. Marie said how bored she was, waiting around for something when there was nothing. She's bored now, she wants something to happen. She's already given us the reason to the connection, all right there was misdirection, nursery rhymes and I could have done without the sarcasm, but she was always very helpful. She wants to know something is going on, she wants things to been shaken up and rattled around. For us to be moving, and finding things,"

"Which is why we cut her off from hearing anything," Korsqq realised, "If she gets bored, she says more things that will lead us to the killer, and we'll be one step closer," the other man nodded sharply, "Unless of course she knows that we're just using her for more information. She's guessed everything so far, and I wouldn't want to risk her guessing this," Leon felt the blond haired man's eyes on him, "What happened when Marie told you that she was bored when nothing was happening?"

* * *

><p><em>Thirteen Years Ago<em>

_"You know I still don't understand why," Ellini said, looking at the board with the information pinned to it, "I don't get it. I really don't. Why would anyone choose to murder these women? How could anyone choose to murder them? I don't understand what physically drives someone to be able to perform such a horrendous act. We still haven't found a motive for these,"_

_"I thought we had agreed on the theory that the murderer killed because they have a compulsion to kill," Timekeeper Dumont said dryly. He was a Timekeeper of some eleven years, yet always felt something of an inexperienced newbie when it came to Raymond Leon and Marie Howard, "That he kills because he's obsessed with the idea of death and murder. More of a mental illness,"_

_"That was only a theory," Leon said, "Not confirmed. There could be any number of reason why he could be murdering these women. For their time, for some misguided revenge tactic, or maybe because of his beliefs?"_

_"You're all missing the obvious," They all turned to look at Marie who was looking fast asleep in her chair, "You're throwing around these theories," she waved a lazy hand, "Why does there have to be a theory concerning this? Does he have to kill for a purpose? It just seems rather random to me,"_

_"Thank you for your input, Marie," replied Ellini sarcastically, "But if we want to get this...bastard the death penalty then we need to say why he did it. It doesn't look good if we don't have a motive to why someone would do this to another person, let alone six," she turned around to see Marie back to sleeping in the chair, "Can you actually appear to be interested in this discussion rather than sleeping?"_

_Marie sighed, opening her eyes and leaning forward, placing her hands on the table, "Fine, here's my opinion on the matter. We have no DNA evidence that can lead us anywhere; we have no apparent witnesses that wish to come forward. We only seem to be actually doing something when the next dead body turns up and even that turns out to be a dead end," she stood up, "So forgive me, Ellini, when I say that I find this discussion completely pointless,"_

_She picked up her coat, walking away from the group. Leon sighed, "I'll go and talk to her," he said to Ellini, "She's just annoyed at the lack of progress," Ellini just sighed, throwing herself in the abandoned chair. He walked after Marie, finally catching her on the shoulder, "Hey," he turned her around, "What the hell was that?"_

_"That was me walking out," she answered him, "I don't see the point of this stupid discussion," she folded her arms into herself, "What is it going to achieve? We're going over the same information and the same piece of evidence that week have since we started this case and I'm just bored of it all. You're getting nowhere and I'm bored of waiting around for nothing to happen. Nothing is happening," she bit her lip, looking down, "I apologise, Leon, I'm just a little frustrated. You have the pieces but it's like you don't know how to assemble them correctly,"_

"_This guy is smart," he shrugged, "And we don't know much yet. Six women dead and that's it. Can't go on circumspect evidence at the moment, Gabrelli wants a proper investigation into this, and an airtight case. There is going to be a lot of waiting around at this point in time," she merely nodded, clearly not pleased with what was happening at the moment. He placed a hand on her shoulder, "Maybe you just need a few days off, go on a vacation to a different zone and let yourself breathe. You're too tightly wound at the moment,"_

_She looked at him, before smiling slowly, "Maybe you're right," she admitted, "Maybe I do need a break from everything. Need to get a few days away and unwind," she smiled at him, "I should do that, don't suppose you'd like to join me?"_

_Leon looked back at the door, "Someone's got to stay here and make sure everything gets done," he excused himself, and her smile faded a little, "You have a good time with your time off. And we'll see you when you get back," Marie nodded slowly, her eyes probing him carefully, "See you soon,"_

_He walked away from her, still aware that Marie hadn't moved, "Hey Leon?" he looked briefly back at her, "Good luck with the case…God knows you need it," he nodded and she turned to walk out of the building._

* * *

><p>4:30:00<p>

"I walked to talk to my lawyer," she banged against the wall of the glass, "Come on now…there's no need to be retrained about these matters, I want to talk to my lawyer and I want to do it quickly. I am allowed phone calls to him," there wasn't any reaction from the guards on the other end of the glass wall, "Phone call, please can you allow it through," still no reaction, "This is getting dull, my friends, and you know how much fun I am when I'm not happy," still there was no reaction and she turned away from the glass to look at the cell. Picking up the phone, she dialled in the same number, only to hear the dial tone of the number being blocked. She slammed the phone down again, "Something's happening," she mused to herself, throwing herself onto the bed, and looking at the glass ceiling, "Someone's found something. He's found the connection,"

She laughed a little, giggling to herself as she thought about it. Why was it that Raymond Leon thought that he could hold against her? That he thought that every step he took was a step towards her when in actuality, he was taking a step towards the deep blue sea. There was a whole world of opportunity, and he remained in the past, determined to see it through. But then she liked that about him. The only flaw that he had been that he still had the pride that he always had.

Tearing that away from him was the least that she could do.

Perhaps it was only because she saw them as what he truly was. The other side of the coin from her. He was the honourable man devoted to pursuing justice and she was a dishonourable killer devoted to pursuing interest above all else. They were so similar that they couldn't help but complement each other, if only Leon could see that. She would never be a part of the Timekeeper system again but she would do everything to continue the game on. Even if she had to change the rules.

And now the Timekeepers had found the connection, she was sure of it. It would only explain why the guards refused to allow her a single phone call to her Jacques. She wondered how Leon had managed to piece it all together. Had it clicked just like a jigsaw puzzle that had needed to be solved? And now he would have known all about her ideas right at the very start. How odd when he could have found all this out just by sitting through two hours of phone messages. And she had known that he would have never been able to. He had already talked to Margaret Cavalli, now they would go back to her to ask all the questions they wanted. But it was already too late. Even if they managed to find the next victim, they wouldn't be able to do anything.

Marie rolled onto her side, watching out at the darkness, "Oh Anna, what would you think of me?" she murmured, "Your little sister doing all this," she rolled her head back, "But then you always did refuse to accept the worst of someone. Even at the very end, you refused to believe what I was. But it wouldn't have saved you in the end,"

* * *

><p><strong>So here we go again. Hoped you liked the chapter, and see you next time.<strong>

**Next Time:**

**_Marie Howard's face filled the screen, "Tick Tock, Leon," she called out, "What is the problem...can't you find me?" Leon stared at the screen, "Bit too soon? Do hope you enjoy the present. I thought about you when I chose her,"_  
><strong>


	11. Chapter 11: Churches and Coundowns

**Whoo, I'm back a lot quicker than last time, and with a longer chapter as well. Don't expect that it's going to be as long as this usually, although we never know. I wanted to get everything moving as fast as possible for this story now, as we enter into another act of this play.**

**Thank you so much to ghostdrunk and Anla'shok for your reviews, and for reading the chapter. I had been quite a while since I last updated but I'm back on track now and definitely want to continue with it. Hope you enjoy the chapter as much as I liked writing it.**

**Disclaimer: Not Mine**

* * *

><p>Chapter 11: Churches and Countdowns<p>

3:00:00

The doors of the Cavalli household burst open, Leon walking inside the house, before pulling out a pad of paper and pen and placing it down in front of Margaret Cavalli, "I want the names of all of the people that Marie was closest to when she was in your group," he told her quickly, and she looked startled at his request, "I apologise, Mrs Cavalli, I know how this might infringe on confidentiality, but we have three hours to find out who Marie's next victim is and we need to find her accomplice, so any name that popped into your head can you please just write it down,"

"Of course," she nodded, "I still keep the registers of every group meeting. It was ten years ago, I'd have to remember who was at the sessions," she rose gracefully from where she was sitting, "They're all saved onto my computer," she picked up a slim laptop, before switching it on, "You know it's funny, Marie was the one that got me into keeping meticulous records of everything that we did. She always hated when everything wasn't laid out and easy to access," Leon nodded hastily, waiting impatiently as she brought up the documents, "Right, these were the people that came to the meetings, but I have to warn you that mostly they aren't the women's real names, anonymity is very often,"

"We just need a name," he informed her, his eyes scanning rapidly down on the list, "Does any of these names jump out at you? Any at all," the woman shifted slightly, clearly uncomfortable with the attention and the pressure placed on her. Leon sighed, "Listen, it doesn't matter whether you choose more than one name on the list. We're looking for more than one person anyway. So there is no pressure for you to give us these names. We still have time," Margaret didn't react and he moved into her vision, "All you have to do is give us a few names from what you can remember," she stared into his eyes, "Just a small little thing, nothing difficult. You can do that for us,"

"You sound like her, you know," Leon felt an icy flush pour through him as he stared at her, "Using words to manipulate people into what you want them to do. It's not your fault, but you do it so well, just like Marie," he straightened up, folding his arms, "I think the reason that you're so obsessed with catching her and her accomplice is because you're afraid of the fact that you are just like her. You'll try and hide it, but you and Marie are two peas in a pod,"

Leon gestured to the document stiffly, ignoring the look from Korsqq, "The document if you will," he said icily and Mrs Cavalli nodded sharply, turning back to look at the laptop, "Now, we're looking for women that Marie would have taken aside to talk to, either before or after the sessions," he instructed, "Like she talked to Antonia Kentwood, Sara Luxembourg and Rachel Lighthower. People that she might have mentioned to you that needed more personal mentoring or counselling. Someone who must have come more than one,"

The woman scanned through the lists, "Marie wasn't much of a talker," she answered, "She preferred to listen very carefully to every speaker and then offer some consolation to them at the end of every session," she scrolled down the page, "However…" Mrs Cavalli frowned a little, before pointing to a name, "I think…" Leon leaned in closer to look at the name, "I think…although I can't be sure,"

"Jane Samuels," Leon nodded, motioning to Korsqq to take down the name, "It's all right if you're not sure, we just need to cover all our bases. Is there any more women that you think that Marie could be a part of? Any at all?"

Mrs Cavalli spent several minutes looking at the registers, "I'm fairly certain about these women," she told him, "Hanna Keating, Anastasia Jay, and Lark Spurr. I remember Hanna Keating because Marie spent a long time with her when we first started the group," Mrs Cavalli continued, "Anastasia Jay and Lark Spurr came a lot later, but they all used those names, and they all attended during the time that the murders were being committed the first time," she turned to look at him, "You should know that we don't know their real names but if you say that one of these women is her accomplice then it will be hard for you to know where to look for them. They left years ago, and I haven't seen them since. It was very common after Marie was arrested. But I don't believe there were any more women that she talked to. She wasn't exactly consistent with attending the meetings,"

Korsqq finished noting down the names, "I'll get Ellini to cross check any of those names within the list that she's compiled," he said to the both of them and Leon nodded, "Hopefully it'll turn up with something similar. This person can't have gotten that far," he walked out of the room, already talking on his radio.

Leon looked back at Mrs Cavalli, who was staring at the empty doorway, "Thank you for all your help, Mrs Cavalli," he said sincerely, "You have been a great help even with our initial…disagreement. I know that this must have been difficult for you with all the memories that have been remembered," she only nodded stiffly, "We'll try not to bother you or your family for the remainder of the investigation," she was silent, "You have been a great help to us,"

He turned his back on her, walking towards the door, "When I first met Marie, I fell in love with her," he stopped at those words, looking straight in front of him, "I couldn't help it, I admired the way she spoke, the tonality of her voice, the way that she lived her life. I was with my first husband and I fell in completely with her, there was nothing that she could do wrong," Mrs Cavalli paused, "When you arrested her, I thought that you had made a mistake, and I went to the trials. I couldn't believe how she had played everyone so well and no one had even realised. She was a friend, a confident and a killer that enjoyed staining her hands with blood. I thought that you had made a mistake…but I do have to ask, what was she doing when you arrested her? After that terrible, terrible night, what did she do afterwards? I have always wondered…"

Leon hesitated, his instinct to just flee the building, but his mind was instinctively drawn back to that one moment that he remembered so well, "She was praying," he whispered, before clearing his throat, "Praying, she was praying in a church when we found her," he looked back at the woman, "I think…I think she knew that we were going to arrest her that day,"

"When you love someone," she said to him, "You tend to think the best of them, that there is always another explanation to their actions even if they can be the most horrendous of all things," he merely looked at her, "I thought that about my first husband, and when I finally opened my eyes, I felt worse than I had done. There is always a sense that you could have done more,"

"I never loved Marie…she was nothing compared to Anna," he finally said.

She looked incredibly tired for a moment, "That is the trouble," she answered, "You can only love the day because it follows night, and eventually you wonder whether you can ever escape it entirely. Shadows cling when it is daylight, they never quite go away, and Marie never did anything that made her seem weak. She's been quiet for ten years, how do you know that she hasn't changed the way that she plays?"

"Because," he replied shrugging, "Like you say, day follows night. Marie likes knowing that there is someone that knows how she operates. It's how I knew she'd be in that church even though she hadn't confessed anything. I knew that she wouldn't be able to resist going to the one place that was the antithesis to everything that she stood for," he smiled humourlessly, "She couldn't resist showing off,"

* * *

><p><em>10 Years Ago<em>

_Leon clicked off the safety catch off his gun, "Are you sure you want to do this, Leon?" Ellini asked him quietly, "You know what she's like and if you are right then she'll make this even more painful than it could be. We could just go straight in there and arrest her and take her away. There need not be any struggle or heartache over this,"_

_He looked at his friend, seeing that her eyes were slightly red from the tears that she had scrubbed away hours ago, "I have to do this," he answered firmly, "As soon as we take her into custody, she will deny any involvement into the murders, and evade us and play games. This is the only chance I will get to ask her completely unhindered, and without any other interference. This is where I can ask her why…" he looked at the doors of the church, "And besides she already knows that we're coming to arrest her. She wouldn't be here otherwise,"_

"_How could she do it, Leon?" she shook slightly, her eyes welling up with tears, "How could she have killed all those people…she was a Timekeeper, she was normal, she was our friend," she looked at the other silent Timekeepers, "And her own…" she trailed off, "Just get it over with Leon,"_

"_Break that bitch," Dumont added harshly, and Leon looked over at him, "She spits on all Timekeepers with this. You nail her to the cross, Leon,"_

_The man merely nodded before disappearing through the doors of the church, the heavy atmosphere of incense and lilies hitting him like a punch to the stomach. It smelt like death at a funeral, and made his stomach churn. He never did like churches, but this was necessary. He stared up at the figure prostrate on the gilded cross at the front of the church, high above the altar and offered a silent apology that this had to be done here. Marie always did have an awful sense of the macabre, although quite how much, he only learnt in the early hours of this morning._

_He could see the slight figure of Marie at the front of the church, facing away from him. He had no doubt that she knew he was here; and probably a smile had graced her face when he entered the church. He moved down towards her slowly, feeling that every footstep he took was as loud as thunder. He slid into the pew next to her, seeing that she was looking thoughtfully up at the image of Jesus, considering it carefully. She didn't say anything to him for a few minutes and he felt his heart slowly sink to his feet._

"_He died for other people's sins," she finally spoke to him, although still not looking at him, "He took the whole world's sins onto his back and still he did not break with the weight of them," Marie hummed a little, "He so very much reminds me of you, Ray, because although you don't have the whole world on your back, you hold the weight of the dead within you. Eventually you will sink when it becomes unbearable, because unlike the Son of God, you are only human," he saw her see his gun, "Violence is prohibited in church, Ray, or have you forgotten that?"_

"_I am fairly certain that the chaplain of this church will overlook any violence on my part when he finds out what he has in his church," he said hoarsely, "Although I am not surprised that you found your way to here of all places. It's crass and vulgar,"_

"_My sister died in the early hours of this morning," she noted airily, "Why would I not go to the place that she perhaps loved most of all," she turned to look at him finally and he saw no trace of sadness n her face. It only served to make him even more furious than ever, "I come to respect her life while you come in anger,"_

_He snorted in ironic humour, "I am sure that you come to respect her life," he retorted, "I'm also sure that you respect her death a lot more," she raised an eyebrow at him, "Stop playing these games with me, Marie, and be honest for the first time in your life…and never disrespect Anna's name in front of me," she grinned mockingly at him, "How can you not shed a tear for your own sister who lies dead in the morgue at HQ?"_

"_Oh, she'll be right at home there," she informed him, with a wry grin twisting her face, "Poor Anna," she looked back at the statue of Jesus, "I don't shed a tear for her like I don't shed a tear for anyone, Leon. You know me better than anyone, and you know how I grieve and it's not with tears and wailing," she sighed, "My sister is dead, and there is nothing you can do to bring her back, Leon. She's gone like all the others, separated by a veil that neither you nor I can pierce, and if you wanted to be any real use, you'd know that,"_

"_You can't run away from this, Marie," he hissed, "You knew that I knew that you murdered those people," he stared at her, "You practically pushed it at me, and you know it. Like a cat that has caught the canary and eaten it, you revelled in that fact,"_

_Mari was silent for a moment before looking at him slowly, "And where is your evidence, Leon?" her tone was cold, "Your DNA, your witnesses, even your motive," she looked knowing, "Because this case is all based on wild conjecture, I should know. So where exactly is the proof that I did anything at all?"_

"_Maybe I should have made this clearer," he informed her, "__"You are my proof, because you are going to confess everything to me. Dates, locations, and even whatever motive you decide to invent. You are going to tell me everything because you have nothing left. Already people are going through your apartment, and your workstation, and I am going to nail you to that cross no matter what,"_

_She considered him like she had considered Jesus, "And what will that solve, Ray?" She inquired, "It will not bring Anna back, no matter how hard you wish it," he was silent, "Like Jesus you fail to underestimate the future and other people's minds. You cannot save everyone,"_

_"You do not believe in religion," he snapped, and a flicker of a smile shone on her face, just for a second._

_"Perhaps not, Leon, but like anything, religion does have its uses," she crooned softly, "Because here is the truth as is written by me. You may have loved Anna, but you could never have stayed with her forever because you would have grown complacent, but with her death now she is immortalised with you forever and you can never escape her or me ever again,"_

_"After this is over I will forget you," he swore, and she laughed properly at that, the clear sound ringing in the cavernous room, "I can and I will,"_

_"Maybe for a day or two," she agreed, "But then you'll go home, Leon, and you'll be alone and you won't help the memories rising within you. Because they'll always be a part of you, and so I am a part of you. You'll never forget me, Leon, and there's the truth of the matter," she leaned against the pew, smiling softly, "We are so similar, you and I, that you will be incapable of forgetting me. That's your greatest tragedy in this. The woman that you loved is dead, the only way you'll remember her is through me. Pity that it's all tainted for you,"_

_"You killed her...why?" He demanded and she looked toward the back of the church, "They're going to come in a minute to arrest you, this is your time to tell me the truth without anyone else listening. To tell me why you did it...to Anna, to all those others women. Why them and why did you kill them? I won't use this as your confession because I want you to tell me yourself without anyone else being here," he grasped her shoulder and she turned to look at him, "If there is anything left that you once felt for us then tell me the truth. Why kill your sister?"_

_Marie studied him, smiling coldly, "Anything that was left between us?" She inquired, "Oh Leon, you use that against me? Appealing to my emotional side. You lost any right to use that against me, three years ago. Do not try to appeal to that because there is nothing in me left to answer that," she rubbed her mouth agitated, before casting another look at the main doors, "How long until they come in?"_

"_Another minute," he said quietly, "So tell me why now, and then that's it. Nothing else, just an answer,"_

"_Oh Leon, you'll never resist chasing this answer," she leaned forward, "But my reasons remain my own and you will never ever get the truth out of me. You will never be sure of whatever answer I give because I will never give you a motive. That is your curse," she cupped his face in her hands, looking at him, "For how long you live you will never know why I killed those ordinary women, and my own sister. And I will break you with it,"_

_And then she kissed him hard on the mouth, pressing herself into his very soul, taking in the same air that he drew in. It wasn't a romantic kiss, or a kind one, it was a poisoning invasion that he couldn't help but succumb. He breathed in Marie, the familiar lilac smell of her hair, the feel of her neck under his fingers and the heat that her body radiated. She was drowning him in emotion, and he forgot that he was in a church, that not six hours ago h had found the tortured form of Anna Howard or that he was here to arrest her sister. The only thing he could think about was the spiral that Marie had sent him into._

_She pulled back sharply and he stared at the woman in front of him. She was panting heavily, her wild hair spilling around her shoulders. He wiped his mouth, his head suddenly clear, "You shouldn't have done that," he said harshly, and she barked a laugh, "What purpose did it serve?"_

"_You will see," she promised, moving away. He caught her wrist tightly, "Leon, this is not the way you want this to happen," he stood up, pulling out the handcuffs that he kept on him at all times, and started to fasten them around her hands, "Neither one of us can survived without any form of challenge, Leon, eventually you will realise that I am the only thing that can create a spark that will blow into a flame within you. I can wait till you realise this,"_

_He looked up at her, "Marie Howard, you are under arrest for the murder of thirteen women. You do not have to say anything but you should know that anything you do say may be used against you in a court of law…"_

* * *

><p>1:30:00<p>

"Do we have anything?" Leon asked as he walked down the steps of the large house.

Korsqq looked up, "Neither Anastasia Jay or Lark Spurr are one of the names that Ellini have that have gone through the different time zones, but that might be because those two are aliases," he informed his superior, "However both Jane Samuels, and Hanna Keating are on that list. One is a doctor and the other is a social worker with children," Korsqq folded his arms, "Sir, do you find it rather a coincidence that…"

"That the two names that didn't come up on the system had references to birds in their names?" Leon finished, "No, it didn't escape me," they both got into the car, "But it tells us about whoever it is. They're consistent concerning names, and I also don't think that it is a coincidence that Marie calls her a baby bird. Meaning that those two are most like potential accomplices," he picked the radio in the car up, "Ellini, this is Timekeeper Leon, I need to find out where Hanna Keating and Jane Samuels lives, and I do hope that it is within a two hour ride because we only have an hour and a half left to find the next victim. We are running out of time,"

"Well you're in luck, Hanna Keating lives in New Greenwich," Ellini answered, "She lives in an apartment in King's Street, Number Fifty One," Leon immediately started driving, "Jane Samuels also lives in New Greenwich but she lives on the opposite side of town at 7 Crystal Avenue. You might want to go to Hanna Keating first. It would be quicker for you," she paused, "Leon, if you wanted to know my opinion then you should know that this feels like this is far too easy. Two names that are conveniently in the same time zone, it all seems very easy. What are we missing?"

Leon was silent for a moment, "Remember that whoever is behind this isn't as clever as Marie," he finally replied, "Eventually she will end up making a mistake and we'll get her," he considered the road in front of him, "But you know that I am not going to let her win. I'm not going to give her the satisfaction of getting to us," he clicked off the radio and sped up the driving, "We have an hour and a half left and we have been next to nowhere for most of these twenty four hours until now. Someone is playing a long game, anticipating that we won't win. I hope that both of these women will tell us why,"

"Do you think that she will be of any use then, sir?" Korsqq asked, "It was ten years ago and a lot of bad memories. We don't even know the names of two of them,"

"Well we can only hope and pray," Leon said sardonically, "Because at the moment, we've far too much to lose," the car pulled up sharply outside a large house and the two men got swiftly out of the car, "Let us hope that she is still in and not off to work," Leon muttered, pulling on the bell which could be heard deep inside the house.

There was a clicking of heels and the door opened to show a woman of average height with bleached blonde hair, "Hello?" she asked the two men, "How can I help you both?"

"Hanna Keating?" Leon asked and she nodded, "I'm Timekeeper Raymond Leon, this is Timekeeper Korsqq, we're here about Marie Howard," she opened her mouth, "Listen, we know that you know her quite well. You were in the same support group and that you spent a lot of time talking with her along with other women that go by the names of Anastasia Jay, Lark Spurr and Jane Samuels. Furthermore, you've probably seen the news that another two of that group: Rachel Lighthower and Sara Luxembourg also known as Rachel Lichtenstein and Patricia Strozzi have been murdered. Surely you can work out the maths for this,"

The woman straightened up, "No flies on you then, Timekeeper," she said coldly, before opening the door wider, "You better come in, and I'll give Jane the heads up that she should come over here right now so she can give her statement to you. Prove that neither one of us are mass murdering psychopaths,"

"You know Jane Samuels?" Hanna Keating nodded, before picking up the phone, "That would be a lot of help for us, and save a lot of time,"

"My pleasure Timekeeper," she answered, before listening through the phone, "Hi Jane, it's Hanna," there was a faint burble on the other end, "Yes, I'm fine. I was just calling to see whether you could come over as soon as possible. The Timekeepers have descended on my house and they know about the support group," another burble, "Yes, I think it would be better if you came over as well. See you as soon as possible. Bye," she placed the phone down, "She'll try to get here as soon as she can. I guess you're running on a rather tight schedule,"

"We have an hour and a half left, ma'am," Korsqq answered her quickly, "Which is why we need to get to the bottom of this as quickly as we can," Miss Keating nodded, before going into the living room, both the men following her, "You first met Marie Howard in the support group run by Margaret Cavalli?"

She looked at Leon, "You don't remember me, do you?" she asked him, and Leon tilted his head slowly, "We have met a couple of times before although I suppose you were a little wrapped up in someone else when we did meet. It never was for very long," Hanna turned to Korsqq, "Yes, I met Marie Howard in the support group that was run by Anna Howard, as it was at that time before Margaret took control. And yes, I was close to Marie Howard in a smaller group as well,"

"Were there many of you in that group?" Leon inquired.

"No, there were only a few of us that Marie was interested in," Hanna said, shrugging, "I keep in contact with Jane Samuels like you know but apart from that the others sort of drifted away. I haven't seen the others since Marie was arrested," she cleared her throat, "I was the first person that Marie took on as a kind of sponsor in that group. She didn't really talk ever so much in the group meetings; she liked listening to others problems. But when you were on your own with her she really helped you connect with yourself. Took you right to the root of the problem and made it go away. It was very cleansing,"

"The others being Lark Spurr, and Anastasia Jay?" he asked and she nodded, "We only got those names, I don't suppose you know their real names or addresses perhaps," Hanna shook her head, "We know the connection between the two women that were murdered was that they were Marie's cast offs, as you like. She was grooming them to be her accomplice but they didn't work out. The accomplice now is who she managed to turn completely. Do you know if Marie had a falling out with them?"

Hanna frowned, "I remember that Rachel…I'm sorry, Raquel, had a very loud disagreement with Marie shortly before she was arrested. I believe that it was at the same time as Antonia Kentwood's murder. It was something trivial, from what I recall, but I do know that they never really sat aright with each other after that. Sara was different, she was right within the group because she was so young, the rest of us liked her for being so young when the rest of us were…well older," the doorbell rang, "That'll be Jane," she walked out of the room to return with a very tall, wispy looking woman, "Timekeepers Leon and Korsqq," she told her, before sitting down on the sofas.

"Ahh, the man that had Marie running in circles for weeks," Jane Samuels studied Leon with a quiet intensity that made the back of his neck crawl, "Pleasure to finally meet you, Raymond Leon. We heard so much about you from Marie. I consider it an honour to actually talk to you post Marie's arrest. Now that you have your eyes wide open and not so blinkered back then,"

"You're very blunt," he said to the woman, who only smiled, "If you weren't already here, I would have said that you had the likeminded attitude that Marie desperately displays," instead of being offended the woman only smiled softly, "You agree with what she is doing? Or rather what the accomplice is doing?"

Jane Samuels leaned forward, "The woman who is doing this, and it is a woman, is acting on Marie's orders," she informed him, "She is nothing but a go between, a mouth for Marie to use. She doesn't have any thoughts for herself, and when Marie has achieved what she wants then whoever it is will be placed back inside the box. Nothing more, nothing less," she smiled wryly, "You're looking for a cunning killer when you should be looking for a submissive mouse. Wasn't the torture of both the bodies post mortem?"

"And I wonder how you know that," Leon retorted, "Because as far as I know, that piece of information wasn't released to the public, so how did you get a hold of it?"

"I have a friend in the IT department of the Timekeepers HQ, his name is James Danvers, you can look him up and vet him out if you don't believe," she replied simply, "Not that I think you have much time to be chasing down that particular lead at the moment,"

Leon leant back, "I might be missing something here, but it does sound like you are agreeing with Marie on this subject," he noted, "I do not have the time to play games, enough of my time these past twenty four hours have been playing games and I am starting to get very tired of doing so. What exact problem do you have with me, I wonder?"

"I don't like any man that is with a woman and then decides to muddy the waters," she answered him, "And I think you know exactly what I am talking about, Raymond Leon. Because over the course of those five years, I saw a strong woman disintegrate at the seams and lose her sanity," she tilted her head at him, "I condemn Marie for the crimes that she committed, but you have to see her reasoning. The death of her sister was only the icing on the cake that was Marie's life. Have you talked with her mother?"

"Elisabeth Howard is not going to be bothered on these events by anyone," he snapped, "One daughter was killed by the other, and I don't believe she needs to be bothered by anyone else now. She's deserves a quiet life away from any publicity," he stared her down, "And I never broke Marie's sanity, she lost that years ago,"

"Oh perhaps she had," Jane Samuels shrugged, "But it is true that you suspected her of murder a couple of years before you finally arrested her. Tragic that it had to take Anna Howard's death for you to see past the clouds,"

* * *

><p><em>12 Years Ago.<em>

"_I'm not sure what it is about parties but they always seem...forced," Marie said next to him and he turned to look at her, "People celebrating the passing of time measured out by birthdays and parties. Makes me feel queasy,"_

_"Hello Marie," Leon said, "Trust you to make even a celebration seem completely pointless," she smiled sarcastically at him, "Aren't you supposed to be at the doctors getting your prescription filled out or something like that. You're not supposed to be here. She doesn't want you to be here with everyone else around. Especially considering what happened last week,"_

_"Turning my own sister against me, now that is an idea," she remarked, turning to him, "But as I distinctly recall it takes two to tango," she placed a hand to her mouth dramatically, "Oh, but she doesn't exactly know about that, does she? She just doesn't like because what I said about Elisabeth," she looked back at the party, "Imagine if we did tell her Leon. The truth does set you free after and you're drowning already," she cleared her throat, "Besides it's my big sister's birthday party. Can't miss that for the world, can we?"_

_He folded his arms, "Listen to me, Marie, nothing happened between us and it stays that way," she merely smiled at him, "Now don't cause any trouble and don't upset anyone," she made to move off and he caught her arm, "Marie, do remember it is your sister's birthday. You haven't even brought a present,"_

_"The present is being delivered later on," she told him, taking a champagne glass off a nearby waiter, "I do think that people will like it," she rocked back on her heels, before grinning at him, "Either way, best mingle with the crowd. I do not want to seem rude. That would be bad," she raised her glass to him, "Besides I really would hate for anything to affect our work together. I would hate for anything to complicate the cases that we're on. I would hate for the press to think that the Timekeepers couldn't do their job," she waved a hand before heading over to a group by the buffet table, calling "Hey Robin, so how's your work coming along?" as she did so._

_It was half an hour into the party when Fasch made his way over to Leon, "Got a call," he said to him, and a strange quietness settled over the party, "You're up, the Red Petal Killer has decided to display another body. Their ninth victim, same location, same body work done to it. Local patrols just picked up the call, their forensics give her the time of death at about an hour ago," he looked at the party, "Not exactly the type of present we wanted for today really,"_

_Those words made Leon's head snap toward Marie who was standing talking to another woman, both having serious expressions on their faces. As if she could feel him watching her, she turned her head perfectly to look at him, and he looked into his eyes from across the room. No warmth was shown there only a barren icy bleakness that resonated in his heart. Then a smile flickered onto her face and the moment past, life resuming as normal. Except that icy feeling remained lodged in his chest and refused to move. Perhaps it was just a coincidence or just a passing glance but there was something in that smile that promised something more. Something more than a normal life and a contented one, but one of fire and blood._

_Now he really didn't know what to do._

* * *

><p>00:45:00<p>

"I'm sorry about Jane," Hanna Keating walked into the living room, placing down the cups of tea that she had made, "She still finds it hard to say anything against Marie, I still do some of the time," she smoothed down her skirt, "Yu have to understand that when we met Marie we were still hurting from a lot of pain and Marie picked us up, dusted us off and made us whole again. We both owe her a lot,"

"More than a lot," Leon looked at Jane Samuels who was standing in the doorway, "The woman made sure that nothing would ever come to hurt us again. I don't know whether it had anything to do with her wanting to get us more emotionally attached to her or that she genuinely cared, but she made sure that nothing ever troubled us. And when trouble did happen to come along, she made it go away permanently. She might not have understood the deeper meanings of emotions but she was a good friend,"

Leon swallowed, "Did she ever get you to do anything for her that aided her in her murders?" he inquired, "Provide an alibi, buy something out of the ordinary in your name, or even meet someone that she needed to pass a message onto. Something that would have been under the radar,"

"I once carried a parcel for her," Hanna told him, drinking her tea, "Nothing that seemed important, but she got it sent to my house and then I held it for her when she was out of town moving house. Personal package, I think, I didn't open it, but it was marked fragile and it sounded like there was glass inside," she shrugged, "That was all, she usually asked Lark or Anastasia for anything to do with something she needed done and she was in a bit of a tight fix. They would have leapt over mountains for her,"

"Tell us about them. One of them is most likely who we are looking for,"

Hanna looked thoughtful, "Anastasia was loud, pushy, and impulsive. Someone who really wanted to go places and didn't mind who she stepped on to get to the right places. I often wondered why she was at the support meetings because she looked like she had recovered, but you never know with people. Lark was different; she was a quiet person, intense when you talked to her, always about the job. Passive aggressive, but loved books and reading. Always had a new one every time we saw her. Both of them loved Marie though, very quick to get on her side in any type of argument which I think Marie found quite attractive,"

"She fucking hated it," all three looked towards Jane who was still in the doorway, "She would put them back in the box every time she didn't need either one, and she always used to smoke after meeting with them," at their inquisitive looks, she shrugged, "I took the same train home with her, she always looked stressed to hell afterwards. Talked a lot in what didn't make a lot of sense. Believe me, Timekeeper, if you're looking for an accomplice that would do anything for Marie, you don't need to look any further than those two,"

Leon looked at Hanna across from him, "Tell me, when you realised that Sara and Raquel had been murdered, why didn't you ring the Timekeepers to explain the connection between the two people. We are nearly at the twenty four hour mark and if you had come to us earlier, we would have gotten much further along than we are presently. Why didn't you ring?"

The two women looked at each other, "We discussed it at the beginning, when the names were released to the public," Hanna began, "Except we decided not to because…"

"We wanted to avoid this whole…debacle," Jane bluntly put it, "Because now you want to take us down the Headquarters and try and help further in this case even though the facts are right in front of you. The last time either one of us had contact with Marie or anyone else of that group was ten years ago, and now two of them are dead. We do not want to become the next two that wind up on the pavements of Dayton,"

"Being the Timekeepers Headquarters will mean that you're safer than anywhere else," Korsqq pointed out, "Seeing as we're trying to find out the location of Marie Howard's accomplice, you being with us means that we can correctly discount you from any on-going investigation that we do,"

Jane Samuels still didn't look convinced and Leon sighed impatiently, standing up, "I'm not sure whether you understand this, Miss Samuels," he said to her, "But twenty four hours ago, I saw Marie Howard for the first time in a very long time, along with two dead bodies. I have been through families, pieces of paper and phone calls to get me here, plus finding out another part of two sisters lives that I had absolutely no idea about ten years ago, despite being involved with one of them," he folded his arms, "At this moment I am willing to forcibly take you into custody now just to make sure that another murder cannot occur. Apart from two missing people, one of which is the assistant killer, you are the only two that could satisfy the connection. So we're leaving right now,"

"You can't physically make us go," Hanna Keating stated, placing down her tea.

"You have both just admitted to knowing the connection between the two victims, something that the general public have not been informed about, and keeping it to yourselves," Korsqq reeled out, "You also admitted collaborating with Marie Howard during her run as a serial murderer and most likely had suspicions about what she was without you telling the Timekeepers," the blonde haired shrugged, "It sounds like a collaboration between the two of you and Marie Howard. You can see how that would look in the press,"

"Fine," Jane grabbed her coat from the sofa, "Let's hope you don't make a mistake again, Timekeeper,"

00:20:00

"This is completely worthless," Jane Samuels said, from the back of the car, "You are completely missing the point here. If Marie wanted to kill us then we would have already been taken by whoever is killing these people. As far as we know, Marie hasn't shown any inclination into wanting us both dead, therefore you can summarise that both of us will be fine,"

"Marie Howard promised me one murder," Leon told her, holding up a finger, "One, and as you said there are no other members of Marie's little connection group that ultimately failed her. Therefore you are the only two possible candidates for the next murders," he tapped the steering wheel anxiously, "There are still twenty minutes left, and there isn't anything that Marie can do to get either of you two. I consider that a result," however there was still a weight in his heart that made him uneasy.

"Are you sure?" she inquired, "Because of what I can remember of Marie was that she always loved pointing out the thing that was right in front of you but always missed. I do wonder at what it is this time,"

Leon sighed impatiently, "You haven't seen Marie in ten years, am I correct?" she nodded sharply, "Tell me, how pleased would she be concerning either of you? Not even a phone call, believe me, I've seen the logs. Because whoever this is, Marie certainly reached out to get help. You go on about whoever it is as if they're weak, that they mean nothing to Marie. When I told Marie, she told me that she cared in her own way about her baby bird. Very maternal over her. Ever considered that perhaps whoever it is has Marie's full confidence and is held in high regard?"

"Anyone told you that you're a bastard, Timekeeper?" she retorted, and Leon's mouth twitched slightly in a smile, "I can see why Marie liked you so much, even with all the shit you put her through. Only man that could keep up with her, and of course you were clever enough to catch her,"

"Cut the bullshit, I know that Marie intended for me to catch her when I did, she played a long game in which to trap everyone within it, and to come down as the final victor," Leon replied, looking at the time. There was so little time left now, "All I have to do now is to make sure that she is cut off from any civilisation and any satisfaction," his phone suddenly vibrated, and he dug it out of his pocket to see the sender of the message. Unknown sender stared back at him and he opened the message up.

_**NICE TRY ;-)**_

A sliver of ice found his way into his stomach at seeing that. Nice try, there was something in those words that seemed to be worse than what they should have been. Nice try. He handed his phone over to Korsqq who looked up immediately, "Do you think that we missed anything?" he asked his superior, "The only possible people that could have been part of the connection are in the back of this car,"

"We missed something," Leon pulled up by the side of the road, his thoughts going a mile an hour, "Something important, something…" he looked in the rear-view mirror meeting Jane Samuel's eyes, "Right in front of us," he spun the steering wheel violently pushing the car to its limits as it shot along the road, "Call Dispatch, we need backup on this," Korsqq nodded, already talking into the radio.

After fifteen minutes, Leon pulled up outside a house, "Are you sure, sir?" Korsqq inquired, and Leon nodded, opening the door and getting out. He stared up at the house, knowing that this was not going to end well.

00:05:00

He walked up to the door, seeing that it was slightly ajar. He looked up at the windows, seeing that no lights were on inside. He placed his hand on the door handle, withdrawing it sharply when he felt that it was sticky with a substance, but it was too dark to see what it was. He pushed the door open, walking inside the darkened house. He squinted in the darkness, trying to find a light switch, when his foot hit something soft and heavy. He stiffened slightly, quickly finding the wall, and flipping the switch on.

00:04:00

Cold dead eyes stared into his, and Leon swallowed heavily at the sight of the dead man. One clean bullet hole had punctured his forehead cleanly. Clearly he was not the intended victim. Leon looked down at his hand, seeing that what had coated the door handle had been blood. He wiped it off viciously, before casting his eyes around the room. He stopped when he saw a rose lying innocently on the ground in front of another door. This was no doubt where the true present was.

00:03:00

Leon gripped the door before pushing it open, and turning the light on swiftly, wanting to get the ordeal over and done with as quickly as possible. The stench of the blood hit him in an overpowering wave, and he turned away for a second before looking back at the scene in front of him. Whoever the accomplice was, they had clearly lost their distaste for torture before killing their victim. And this time they had placed their own stamp on the occasion. It was far from the controlled torture that was of Marie's murders, but more chaotic, out of control, and impulsive.

00:02:00

His phone rang sharply, and he picked it up, "Do we see now?" the caller said on the other end of the phone, "Do we see, Ray, that no one in this game is safe? You might have found the connection of my collected prizes, but that does not mean that you are any closer to me. Do we understand each other now?"

00:01:00

"Yes," he answered numbly, "Yes, we understand each other," he shut the phone mutely, leaning against the wall, seeing the murdered and butchered corpse of Margaret Cavalli stare coldly back at him.

00:00:00

* * *

><p><strong>So, how was that :-P and now everything is starting to pick up the pace with this again. And I wonder who people think is the accomplice. Drop me a line and tell me. I'm always interested to know what people think.<strong>

**So long**

**:)**

_**Next Time**_

_**"This is the first trial of Marie Elisabeth Howard,"**_

_**...**_

_**"Whatever you do, do not say anything about her disabilities," Leon warned the younger man**_

_**...**_

_**"Marie was always getting into trouble," the woman smoothed down her skirt, "Anna was the sensible one, the sweet one. With Marie, you were always wondering what was going on behind those eyes of her, and whether she wanted to be your friend or wanted to push you into the dirt,"**_

_**...**_

_**"I don't car what you think, I don't care what you say, all I know is that there is a woman that is lying dead because of you and I know next to nothing anymore because of your damn games,"**_

_**...**_

_**"Open your eyes and see what is in front of you,"**_


End file.
